


In Plain Sight - COMPLETE

by Jacqualine



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assault, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Girl disguised as a boy, Hand Jobs, Hiding in Plain Sight, Oral Sex, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements, Shirbert, Smut, confused feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:06:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 50,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacqualine/pseuds/Jacqualine
Summary: Anne is running for her life, she ends up working as a fire stoker on the Primrose with Gilbert and Bash. She is also disguised as a boy, Gilbert has confusing feelings.I am going to try and be as sensitive as possible and I am not trying to make fun of anyone or offend anyone.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 462
Kudos: 765





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back at long last. I have been working on something for two weeks and it was just not coming. It's actually almost done but I could barely write a paragraph a day on it. This has been bubbling for a while now and I wrote this chapter in such a short time and have already started chapter two, this has to be the story I work on now.

Gilbert clocked him right away. Something was off, he didn't make eye contact, didn't talk a lot, that in itself wasn't so strange, most of the guys down in the belly of the ship, kept to themselves. There was just something about the new guy that intrigued Gilbert, the way he hunched in on himself, as if trying to appear smaller, was one thing. Most guys stood tall, opened their chests to appear as large and as broad as possible. 

Angus was his name, skinny thing, why the foreman hired him, Gilbert had no idea, Gilbert, himself was only about 120 lbs soaking wet when he had been hired onto the S.S. Primrose, the hours of hard repetitive work had packed on at least another 30 lbs of muscle. Angus couldn't even be 110 lbs, 100 would be a generous estimation. Scrawny and gangly, all arms and legs, long neck that looked incapable of supporting his own head. A head covered by a cap that covered a raggedy head of bright red hair. 

"Three weeks." Bash had announced, gently elbowing Gilbert for his attention, nodding his chin toward the young man walking with Jimmy the foreman, who was explaining the job, the skinny kid watched and listened intently, it was evident on their face, as they nodded in understanding and he gestured with his hands as he asked questions. 

"Three? I give him a week." Gilbert replied.

"Come on Blythe, I gave you three when everyone else said you wouldn't last the day."

"What?" Gilbert couldn't hide the indignation from his voice.

"You were just a skinny farm boy." Bash reminded him.

"I knew hard work though."

"And maybe he does too. He has the look of a fighter in his eyes." Bash noted. And Gilbert did see something in the kid's eyes, a determination, he had to respect that.

"Lacroix, show Walters here the ropes." Jimmy said before turning to yell at a few guys near the front for slowing down.

"Hello, Walters?" Bash asked the kid.

"Angus Walters." The kid stuck out his hand. Bash looked at it, and then shook it.

"I'm Bash, this is Blythe. The job goes like this...shovel this coal into that fire, repeat. Do that all day, everyday." It was the same thing he had said to Gilbert on his first day. The kid grabbed a shovel, stuck it in the coal and then tossed it into the fire, with a grunt. 

"Easy Kid, you'll blow your back out in an hour like that. You're new, you have to let your body grow accustomed to the work. You aren't going to be able to lift as much as us in the beginning, start with smaller shovelfuls." Gilbert called to the kid, who nodded and took a smaller amount of coal and tossed it in the fire.

The kid never talked for the rest of the shift, never stopped, just kept shoveling, there were a few times that Gilbert thought he would stop, or quit, when his thin arms were shaking so bad, more coal fell off the shovel than made it to the fire, but the kid would quickly wipe his face with the back of his arm, nod at the pile of coal and continue. By the end of the shift the Kid was getting several, "Good job Kid" and "Nice Work Walters", thrown his way by the other fire stokers, he smiled shyly at each one, nodded his head and kept his eyes on the floor.

"Come on Walters, we'll wash up and then head for the chow line." Bash told him, slapping Walters on the shoulder, almost making the boy stumble.

"Where you from?" Bash asked as they walked to buckets of seawater left out for them to rinse off the worst of the sweat and coal. They never got really clean until they docked in a port somewhere and they went to one of the public bathing houses.

"Halifax." He responded, waiting for Bash to finish rinsing off, Gilbert used the bucket next to them, and noticed how red, Walters hands were as the coal rinsed off, fresh blisters, some had already broken, his face grimacing in pain as the saltwater stung at the open wounds.

"You should see the ships doctor for some ointment for your hands, you don't want those to get infected." Gilbert advised. 

"There goes Dr. Blythe." Bash teased. "Ever since he delivered a baby, he thinks he is a medical professional."

"You delivered a baby? A human baby?" Walters asked, eyes round, looking at Gilbert with a mixture of shock, horror and respect.

"She had nowhere to go, the baby was coming, we had to help." Gilbert explained. "I helped deliver animals on my Dad's farm."

"He is humble to a fault, our Gilbert." Bash interrupted. "The baby was backwards, Blythe saved the baby and the mother by turning that baby around inside of her, so it could come out. She was a prostitute, most people would have left her in the street." 

"But you didn't." Walters stated and Gilbert shrugged, he was never the sort to brag.

"Come on let's go get our dinner or there won't be any left."

Walters got a hammock in the far corner of the sleeping quarters for the stokers, most of the men prefered the beds by the portholes, enjoying the fresh air and sunlight they provided. He simply walked to the empty, unclaimed bunk directly, climbed in and went right to sleep, exhausted from the physical job. 

She laid as still as possible, less for the reason of not attraction attention, and more from her entire body aching, even the slightest of movements hurt. She knew she would wake up to even more pain, and would have to ignore the pain and work through it, and she was already trying to mentally prepare herself. The way she always did, repeating words again and again, until that was all she focused on. During her first horrendous shift in the belly of the ship, she had repeated "just one more" telling herself she could stop after just one more shovel, continuing until the shift was done. She would repeat, "just one more" again tomorrow, but now as she lay in her hammock, facing the dark stained wall of the ship, the ocean was causing a gentle swaying of her hammock and quickly lulling her exhausted body to sleep, she repeated "Stay quiet, stay unseen", she would need to always keep those words in her head if she was going to pull this off and remain undetected. She couldn't be caught, she couldn't risk being returned to Nova Scotia, the Halifax police, she would swing from the gallows if they caught her. She knew no one would believe her, they would say she murdered him, Royal Gardner, and then hang her for it.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne tries to settle into life aboard the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the love guys! It's nice to receive such a warm reception, I was nervous with the whole boy disguise plot. 
> 
> I'm not going to delve into it, but let's assume that Anne is able to go to the bathroom, and hide her period without being discovered. 
> 
> I hope you are all practicing social distancing and staying home if/when you can. This is no joke, friends.

Anne wasn't sure if she liked Gilbert Blythe. He was always polite, something few people on board this ship were, he was kind, gave helpful advice, never shoved her out of the way at chow time, she hadn't heard him, or Bash for that matter, pleasuring himself in the dark room at night, but she felt like he was watching her. The anxiety she felt every time she had to interact with him was enough for her to feel physically sick, something she could blame on the motion of the boat, but she also liked being near him, and Bash, they were the only people she consistently interacted with. The problem was the more time she spent with them, the more questions Gilbert asked. Did he know her secret? Everytime she allowed herself to even think he had discovered that she was really a woman, her heart would pound and she would feel bile rising in the back of her throat. She had fled Halifax the night Royal Gardner was murdered, she would be the prime suspect, she had no money for a lawyer, no friends or family to testify on her behalf, no one would believe she didn't do it. She had every reason to, he had physically hurt her several times and was threatening to do it again, she had been terrified of him, but she didn't kill him.

If Gilbert was aware of her sex, he wasn't saying anything, not to the foreman, not to Bash, the other stokers or to her, but she felt his eyes on her, could tell he listened closely to her words, she was careful to never say too much in front of him, and to never tell a lie, she instinctively knew he would catch her in a lie, if she made even the smallest error. So she told as much of the truth as she could, omitting the parts that could catch her out.

"So you're from Halifax?" He asked one day while they were eating dinner, a meal of fish and cabbage stew, which was disgusting but it was food and she needed it to keep doing her job.

"Uh huh." She nodded, shoveling a spoonful of food into her mouth.

"I'm from PEI." He provided. "We're neighbours."

"I almost went there once, to live but it didn't work out." Anne told him, wincing at her big mouth.

"Why not?"

"I was supposed to be adopted by someone there, I was packed and ready to go when they realized the family wanted a boy...a younger boy than myself." She quickly covered. And a boy had been sent instead, a young boy named Phillip had gone on to the family in PEI.

"Hmmm, I remember my neighbours taking on a boy a few years ago, not long before I left home."

"Kids went all over the maritimes when I was in the orphanage, I'm sure it was a different boy." She desperately wanted him to stop talking.

"Probably, but wouldn't it be strange if we were almost neighbours?"

"It would be. They say it's a small world, those people have never been in the middle of the ocean." She tried to change the subject.

"It is. So you were raised in an orphanage? I'm an orphan too, but I was old enough to be on my own when my Dad died."

"That is lucky." She answered, just wanting him to leave her alone, he made her so nervous.

"I'm lucky my Dad died when I was 15? Lucky that my mother died giving birth to me and all my brothers and sisters died young to disease?" She sounded angry but didn't raise his voice, instead he emitted waves of anger toward her, his jaw clenched and his dark eyes flashing. 

"That's not how I meant it. It's just, you got to know your dad and had some stability and love for a while at least." She floundered, trying to right the wrong she just caused.

"Yes, I had stability...watching him whither and die from sickness."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Forget it." He snapped, picked up his bowl and left the table, just as Bash arrived with his steaming bowl.

"What happened? I have never seen him so angry."

"I said something stupid." She admitted. 

"Don't worry, I have never seen him get angry, I'm sure it won't last." Bash tried to reassure her.

Gilbert stood on the deck, staring out at the setting sun, the beautiful colours dancing over the water, orange, pink, yellow, red, and every shade in between, glowing deeper, and more vibrant as the sun sank and the sky above darkened. His dad would have loved this, the adventure of the high seas, a new port and city every week. But John Blythe would have no more adventures, Gilbert thought sadly. He couldn't help but feel the tears well up in his eyes when he thought of his father, a dried out husk of a shell of his former self, eyes red, and filled with panic as he coughed and desperately fought to draw in a breath. Seeing that and having that horrific memory seared into his brain did not make him lucky. Quite the opposite, Gilbert felt like there was a curse on him. 

How else would you explain it? He lost everyone that was connected to him by blood. He had no one who loved him, he had Bash now...more than a friend almost a brother. He had someone, and he could continue building on his family, more friends that could be family, and maybe a wife and children someday.

"I'm so sorry. I was ridiculously rude and insensitive and thoughtless and assuming that I could ever tell you how you should feel about losing your father, was one of the..."

"I get it. It's forgotten, water under the bridge."

"Thank you Gilbert." They stared at the remainder of the sunset. "That was transcendent." Walters whispered, his voice thick with awe.

"You go to school at that orphanage?" He asked. How did a kid who lived in an orphanage know words like transcendent?

"Sometimes, when I wasn't staying with foster families."

"You didn't go when you were living in an actual home?" He would have thought the access to education would come when he was staying in a stable home.

"Never, there wasn't time, I had to clean, and....help with the farm and stuff." Angus said, looking at the ground. Gilbert nodded, but something didn't click for him, if Angus had worked on farms, he should have fared far better at shoveling coal on his first day. It wasn't the first or second time that Angus had said something to Gilbert that didn't sit right. He was lying, what the exact lies where and why, Gilbert wasn't sure, but he was a good kid that didn't swear, never drank alcohol, and didn't start fights, he was a bit odd and if he wanted to keep his secrets, who was Gilbert to make him share?

Being a boy was much easier than Anne had anticipated, no one ever questioned it, Gilbert still studied her and she was extremely careful about how she answered any questions from him, but from the very first moment, she had been accepted as a man. And it was so liberating, she could do and say whatever she wanted, there was no one frowning about how it wasn't lady-like, or acceptable for a woman to do. If she wanted to walk around the ship at night, there was no one to tell her it was dangerous, no one to fear making unwanted advances on her. When they stopped in a port city the only fear she had was pickpockets or muggers, so she spent those hours, trying new foods, looking at grand structures and wandering the marketplaces. Sometimes she would accept the invitation from Bash and Gilbert, to spend the day with them, and she enjoyed those outings immensely, and the camaraderie that was growing between them all, the teasing, debating, it turned out she and Gilbert could spend longer than Bash could tolerate, arguing about almost everything, from architecture, food, books and history. But she loved her days alone too, where she could stare longingly at the latest fashions, beautiful bolts of fabrics, ribbons, lace and even jewelry, something she was careful to never do in front of Bash or Gilbert. 

She would go to the public bath houses, hire a private room and sink into a hot bath and just relax. She had never even had a real bath her entire life that she could recall. Always just washed with a basin and a cloth or occasionally in a river or stream if there was a chance. She wished she could scent the water with rose petals or exotic perfumes, but that might give her away, so she just used the bar of soap provided. She had gotten a better haircut than her last one, one she had given herself with a knife and no mirror, the recent one was done by a barber and it was much preferred by herself, still close cropped at the back and sides, she had a bit of length on the top that she could run her fingers through to relax at night. She had also spent some of her wages on a new set of clothes, ones that she wouldn't use to work in, so she could change and have some semblance of cleanliness, a couple of extra socks and some material to bind her chest down, being careful to wrap them in a closet when no one was around. 

The work was hard, but she was used to that, she had spent the entirety of her life doing hard, back breaking work, at least now she was getting paid for it and they gave her a place to sleep, and three meals a day. She had never eaten so well in her life and she could see her flesh filling out a bit in the two months she had been on the Primrose, as well as the hard muscle in her shoulders and arms. She was feeling stronger, healthier, but she knew she needed to stay vigilant, if she was discovered she would be kicked off the Primrose and who knew what would happen, maybe they would turn her over to the Halifax police. 

The best thing was the adventure, she was seeing the world, okay maybe not the entire world, but so far she had travelled the eastern seaboard, been to Cuba, Dominica, Barbados and they found out their next stop would be in Jamaica and then on to Paris. She could hardly contain herself, she was going to Paris, city of love, fashion, art, history, and she was going to soak it all in. "Wake up Kid, you going to keep shovelling all night too?" Gilbert called to her, breaking her from her imaginationings, she had gotten to the point where she shovelled without even thinking about it, and she let her mind run wild. Princess Cordelia was having the most divine adventures on a Pirate ship on its way to Jamaica. 

"I'm going to get some oxtail tomorrow, fried plantain, and some rice and peas." Bash was dreaming of the food, so similar to his own Trinidadian cuisine. 

"Just be sure to eat breakfast Angus, you'll spend the day salivating over everything you pass while Bash searches for the perfect "bush medicine".

"Don't be a Moke, you can only get that medicine from my own mother."

"I'll just be happy for something other than cabbage." Anne told them with a laugh.

"You and me both." Bash agreed. "I know a great place, the women are the prettiest on the island." Bash told them as they finished washing up and heading for the chow line.

"Is that all you think about?" Gilbert teased.

"I'm a young man in my prime with no Sweetheart, I'm just trying to find one. What about you Blythe? You haven't shown interest in anyone, haven't touched a female since you delivered that baby."

"I don't need a sweetheart, not right now anyway. What about Angus? You never bother him about finding a girl."

"Angus can't even grow whiskers yet, he probably has no hair on his balls yet." And Anne started coughing at that, Bash and Gilbert were rarely crude, so when one of them were she was always flustered. 

"Stop thinking about my balls." She retorted, hoping it would cover up her discomfort. Gilbert guffawed heartily at her come back and Bash just laughed and shook his head. 

"I try and look out for you skinny white boys and this is the thanks I get." He shook his head at them while he grabbed his bowl of food. "Delicious fish and potato soup."

"At least it isn't cabbage again." Anne noted, excited for the foods of Jamaica. She caught Gilbert looking at her, he smiled when they locked eyes, he was quite handsome and had such a fine chin. She sat down next to Bash, across from Gilbert and stared at her soup, still thinking about Gilbert and how she would get goosebumps when he would pat her shoulder, or brush up against her while they were walking. "Have you been to Paris before?" She asked. 

"I've been once last year, a few months into this job." Gilbert answered. "Bash has been there a bunch of times." Anne remembered that Bash had been working on the Primrose for 10 years. 

"Is there anyplace Bash hasn't been?" She wondered. 

"Never been to Blythe's island." Bash answered between bites. 

"One day, I'll show you both the prettiest place on earth." Blythe told them.

"I've already been to Trinidad." Bash responded. 

"Fair enough, your island is beautiful." He turned back to Anne. "You excited for Paris?"

"Oh yes. The City of Love. It's such a romantic place, at least it is in most of the books I've read, well...maybe not Les Miserables..." She had said too much, both Bash and Gilbert were looking at her. She felt her stomach begin churning, she had to cover this up good.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys, and Anne, are still on the ship, still finding out things about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you guys are enjoying this one. I should have modern set this, because it would have been easier. LOL 
> 
> The one line of french in here is from Google translate, despite being Canadian, I do not speak it, so forgive me if it makes no sense. 
> 
> All comments and questions are appreciated! Thanks so much and stay safe!!

"You've read Les Miserables?" Gilbert asked. "In French?" It was a pretty difficult read for most people.

"On no, an English translation. I don't speak or read french. I sneaked it from the Matron's office. She ran the orphan asylum. I stole most of the books I read from her." Angus was saying, his face was flame red now, why was he embarrassed about reading? Or maybe it was the romance stuff, most fire stokers didn't care that much about romance, and their only excitement for Paris was visiting the dancing girls or the brothels. Angus was a different sort though, never spoke about women, or girls, never talked about finding a wife. It suddenly dawned on Gilbert that maybe Angus was one of those men that preferred other men. He had heard of them of course, Billy Andrews loved to accuse all the boys of being that way, back in Avonlea. Perhaps that was why Angus was so quiet and shy, he was worried about being found out, he would be a social pariah and definitely fired from the steamer. Gilbert liked him, and didn't want to put him at risk, so he decided he wouldn't voice his suspicions to anyone...including Bash.

"I have a couple of books with me, you can borrow them if you want." Gilbert offered Angus.

"I would really appreciate that. There isn't a lot of mental stimulation available onboard."

"We can check out one of the shops in port tomorrow, we might be able to find something interesting to read."

"What a stupendous idea." Angus beamed at him, and Gilbert found himself grinning back. 

"Are you going to have a book club with afternoon tea?" Bash teased, pretending to drink a cup of tea, pinky out like a proper gentleman. 

"We're sure to talk about the books after reading them, so it may as well be a book club. You should join." Gilbert refused to be teased about loving books. Bash shrugged at the offer but didn't say no. 

"It's settled then." Angus joined in, teasing Bash.

She cowered against the wall, eyes darting around, looking for an escape or a defense, something to hold him back. Some deep part of her mind acknowledged that he shouldn't be here, he was dead, but somehow he was there. Standing in the doorway, undoing his pants...

"No!" She called out, jerking awake and falling out of her hammock with a hard thump. 

"Shut the fuck up Walters." Someone called out from the otherside of the room. 

"You ok Kid?" Bash called out to her, as she got up and rubbed her left side which had taken the brunt of the fall. 

"Bad dream." She responded, climbing back into her hammock.

"Shit, don't start that screaming up again." Another voice yelled out. She had disturbed them alot in the first couple of weeks, having vivid nightmares. 

"Sorry." She told the room softly. 

"It's not his fault, lay off." Gilbert's voice said from closer by than he normally was. He approached her hammock, a look of concern evident in the thin slice of moonlight shining on him. "You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Bit of a surprise to wake up and then fall out of bed."

"It would be. You haven't had one of those in a while." He noted, and Anne felt a rush of warmth toward him, he was always such a good and caring friend. 

"Must be the excitement." She lied. They were due to dock in Paris the following day.

"Maybe." His eyebrows came together and he looked at her intently. "If you ever need to talk about it, or anything...I'm here."

"Thanks Blythe, I appreciate that. You should get back to sleep." 

"You too. Night." He went back to his hammock and Anne tried to relax. Her heart had ceased pounding, but her nerves were wide awake and alert, she couldn't keep herself from remembering the dream. The lump of fear knotting her throat, the panic so real that she thought she would claw her way through the wall if she had to, the anger, hatred and terror. Absolute, spine chilling fear, the kind you knew when your fate, your very life, was in the hands of another, of a monster. Sometimes she thought she could feel the burning pain deep inside of her again, could taste the coppery flavour of blood in her mouth, and she had to fight the instinct to run and hide. "You're safe." She whispered to herself. "You're safe." Roy was dead, he couldn't hurt her again. She whispered that over and over until she fell asleep, curled up into herself and her hand rubbing her head for comfort.

The day after docking in Paris they all had a couple days off, so with their pay bulging in their pockets, and a stern warning from the captain not to get arrested, the crew eagerly left the ship to enjoy the City of Lights. Bash and Gilbert wanted to go to the bath house and then to a cafe for some food. She made an excuse about exploring by herself for a bit and they all arranged to meet at a tavern by the where the ship was berthed before dinner. 

She took her bath in a private room, changed into her clean clothes and then set off to explore some of Paris. She headed to the Louvre, she didn't know much about art or painters, but she thought she might never have a chance to see it again. She had gone to the museums and art galleries in New York and Boston and had been so moved by the artwork and artifacts she had seen, she wasn't going to miss this one. By the time she had to leave to meet the Bash and Gilbert, she was wiping tears away from her eyes, the works there were truly the most beautiful things she had seen. She rushed to meet the others, finding them outside, looking for her. 

"Sorry I'm late, I ended up going to the art museum, it was incredible." 

"You're late because of pictures? Books and paintings, well inside there are no books or paintings. There's good music, food and drink." Bash informed her.

"I'm famished, let's go." She told him. There was a tall, broad man standing by the door, in French and with hand gestures he told them to take off their hats.

"I've been on that ship too long, I always took my hat off when entering a building." Gilbert noted wryly.

"You hear that Walters? Blythe here has lost his manners. Soon he'll be wiping his face on his sleeve, using the wrong fork and forgetting to hold his pinky out." Bash teased with his pinky pointing outward. 

Gilbert just laughed, he enjoyed Bash's good natured teasing. "Laugh all you want but Rachel Lynde would have my hide if she had to tell me to remove my hat." 

"Who's that?" Angus asked him, he was running his hands through his hair, flattened to his head from the hat. 

"Just the town gossip and self appointed manners and propriety police." Gilbert told them. "I shouldn't say mean things, she was very helpful when my Dad died. Helped organize the funeral and the food for afterward."

"It must be nice to have neighbours like that." Bash commented and Angus nodded his agreement. 

"Do you miss it?" Angus asked. Gilbert thought about it for a while. 

"I do. I miss a feeling of community. I lost it when Dad died, I thought he was the only thing keeping me there, so I left, to find out who Gilbert Blythe was. Two and a half years later, I still don't know the answer to that, but I find myself thinking about the old schoolhouse, my friends, the way the sun would shine right on my pillow in the summer mornings, fresh churned earth, the apples from our orchard and the island itself. Deep red dirt, green, green fields and forests, I've been thinking of going home."

"You're a lucky boy, to have a home to go home too. Me and Angus, we just have this ship."

Gilbert looked at Bash's warm brown eyes, and then at Angus, he was looking at Gilbert with wide blue eyes, his hair falling onto his forehead, the thick fringe of red hair, softening his face, making his eyes even wider. Gilbert cared about these guys, Bash was his brother, Angus was becoming one, he didn't want to leave them behind. 

"Maybe there could be more." Gilbert replied.

"What do you mean?" Bash asked, the waitress took that opportunity to come to take their orders. They all got a meal of roast beef and vegetables and a mug of beer. 

"Well...I'm still pretty sure I don't want to be a farmer for the rest of my life, but would you two want to be?" At Bash and Angus's confused faces, he continued. "I've got a farm and almost no desire to work it. You guys want a home and a future. Come home to Avonlea with me, work the farm, we can split the profits. Partners."

"We don't know how to be farmers." Angus protested.

"I can teach you. I'll work it with you, showing you how, then in a couple of years, if I don't want to continue it, I'll find something else to do. You guys can stay on, live at the farm and take it over."

"You want to make us partners on your farm, what's the catch?" Bash asked, more confused than suspicious.

"I have no family left, I don't want to leave the people that feel like family. You guys make my days better by just being there, I don't even have to hear you cracking jokes, or hear Angus constantly saying "just one more" to feel better. Just seeing you guys makes the shift go faster."

"I will admit that since you started working on the ship, the days seem to be more enjoyable."

"Can you imagine what it would be like? All of us, working in the fresh air, eating the food we grew, cooked. The farm is big enough for a family, if one of you finds a wife, and we have enough room to build a second house if you both do."

"You paint a pretty picture Blythe...what about you Kid? You're not saying much." Bash asked Angus.

"It sounds wonderful, that's an incredibly generous offer..." Gilbert sensed that Angus was going to follow that up with a refusal.

"Look, we don't have to decide now. I'm not leaving anytime soon. Take your time, think about it, ask me any questions you might have."

"I'll think about it." Angus said after a moment, and Bash nodded his agreement. 

Gilbert had more to drink than he normally did, he wasn't fully drunk, none of them were, but they were tipsy and feeling cheerful and boisterous as they left the tavern and headed back to the ship for the night, they had another free day before the Primrose sailed for her next stop, London. Gilbert and Bash had an arm around each other's shoulders while they sang "Haul Away Joe" loudly through the streets. Angus was not singing, but he was laughing and encouraging the other two. 

"Sing "Drunken Sailor" next." Angus demanded, spinning in an off kilter circle. Bash and Gilbert immediately began singing the song. 

"Oh handsome sailors." A heavily accented female voice called out. Gilbert looked and saw two women, standing in a doorway, low cut dresses, allowing all to see the milky white of the tops of their breasts. He had traveled the world for over two years, he knew to stay away from prostitutes, most were disease ridden. 

"Good evening ladies." He nodded and tipped his cap. He was still a polite boy from Avonlea. 

"Lonely sailors want to be friends?" The other one asked, she had bright yellow hair that didn't look natural to him. 

"No thank you." Bash replied. 

"What a pretty boy." One of them noticed Angus, and studied him with a raised eyebrow. Angus froze in spot, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. 

"Lizette, he is prettier than me." The other one pouted, she had black hair, styled in a messy updo. 

"He would do well at Francois. They like pretty little boys like you at Francois. You would be popular." Lizette laughed. 

"Good night." Gilbert decided that was enough, and grabbed Angus's upper arm to move him along. 

"Sylvie" Lizette nudged the brunette and laughed, pointed at Angus and said "Joli garçon est en fait une fille!" Sylvie took another long look at Angus and burst out laughing too. 

"No wonder they don't need our company, when they have such a pretty...boy, to play with." Sylvie laughed at her own joke. Bash and Gilbert shared a look, asking each other what that was about, Angus was walking faster and when Gilbert and Bash caught up to him, he had a wide eyed, panicked look to him.

"You ok kid? Don't let them get to you. Gilbert is plenty pretty too." Bash tried to assure him.

"I'm fine." Angus answered but Gilbert could hear emotion in his voice. And he again wondered if Angus liked men instead of women. 

The group remained silent, the revelry from earlier gone, they boarded the ship, got ready for bed, each of them laying awake for a while thinking on their lives, and the future. 

Bash was considering Gilbert's offer. Could it be real? The idea of a stable home, and the hope for a family, had Bash's hopes soaring. He had made up his mind already, he was ready to live on land again and work the earth. 

Anne's mind was racing, she was sure the prostitutes were going to say something that would make the others suspicious. She did notice when she was bathing that her hips and breasts were filling out, her formally stick straight body was finally getting the curves of a woman, she would have preferred to not bloom at all, instead of her body waiting until she was 18. The fear of being found out was back and it was nearly overpowering. She was tempted to get off the ship in London and melt into the city, but like Gilbert, she found she had two relationships like she had never had before, that she didn't want to lose. 

They'll hate you when they discovered you lied to them.

She was sorely tempted to take up Gilbert's offer to move to the farm. Hide away in a small town, live a quiet life. It seemed so wonderful to her. She could picture them, tilling the fields, picking apples from the orchard, she would keep a little vegetable patch near the house, and a beautiful flower garden out front, filled with bright, audacious colours. In the fall she would bake pumpkin pies and pickle the vegetables she grew. In the winter they could sit around the fireplace, and tell stories, read books...hanging laundry on the line on a warm summer day, maybe a baby to love.

You fool, you're dreaming of being a wife and a mother when they think you are a man. And you can't go back and be a woman, if Gilbert and Bash find out you are wanted for murder, they'll turn you in themselves. 

It was many hours later she finally fell asleep.

Gilbert couldn't stop thinking about Angus and the prostitutes, they had said he was a pretty boy, and implied that Angus could make a lot of money at what Gilbert assumed was a whorehouse, possibly just for men who were attracted to other men. Had joked that Bash and Gilbert used Angus in that way. Angus really did have feminine features, those wide blue eyes, fringed with thick lashes, full pink lips that spread into a wide smile, revealing dimples on either side. Angus was quite pretty. It was normal for Gilbert to notice that, he could just as easily acknowledge that Bash also had long thick eyelashes, and was quite handsome. Nothing wrong with that. 

He was back in Avonlea, he knew the smell, he knew the forests. Even the way the sun shone there was different than anywhere else. He looked back over his shoulder and saw his home, his heart almost sang at the sight of the grey stones, Bash standing on the front stairs, waving a greeting at him. Ahead of him in the orchard was Angus between the rows, reaching for a red apple. 

"Perfect ripeness." he called out to Gilbert, who walked to join him under the trees.

"The best I ever had." Gilbert said, taking an apple and biting it.

"I'm glad we decided to come here. I owe you so much." Angus answered, something about his eyes seemed to hold Gilbert captive, and he found he couldn't speak or move. "I want to repay you." Gilbert couldn't speak, he had no ability to talk, he wanted to tell Angus it was Gilbert who owed them so much, but his tongue didn't work. Angus moved closer to him and pressed Gilbert against the tree behind him, and then sunk to his knees in front of Gilbert.

"Let me show you." He whispered as he pulled Gilbert's pants down and took his dick in his hands. Gilbert knew what was about to happen, he had heard the men on the ship talk about it, had been offered it from prostitutes in Trinidad, New York, Halifax, Belfast and more. The feeling was exquisite, as those full red lips surrounded his cock, the tongue flicking over the head. Angus got his cock wet with spit before he began to bob his head up and down on Gilbert's dick, sucking it down as he went. He grabbed a handful of Angus's bright red hair, and pushed on the back of his head, pressing him just a bit deeper, Angus moaned deep in his throat in response and doubled his effort on Gilbert's cock. Gilbert felt his balls tighten and knew he was about to come, desperately wanted to shoot it down Angus's throat.

He woke up in time, it was close, so very close to making a mess in his pants. He laid still, willing his heart to stop pounding, willing the ache in his cock and his balls to go away. What kind of dream was that? He didn't want something like that to happen with Angus, Gilbert wasn't even sure he would want his wife to do it...it seemed so depraved. His dick twitched at the memory of the dream though and Gilbert mentally cursed those whores, for putting those ideas in his mind, he rolled onto his side and hoped he could get some sleep before dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The translation for the french sentence is(hopefully) "The pretty boy is actually a girl".


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert is trying to deal with confusing feelings and Anne feels threatened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks for reading, liking and commenting on this story. I love how engaged you all are in this. When I started it I was thinking more of a Twelfth Night type story but I really love the Mulan vibes you guys are sensing. Let's face it, it's one of the best Disney cartoons and has one of the hottest love interests. LOL
> 
> I have fudged the timeline a bit, and Anne is about 18 and Gilbert is 20, Bash is about 10 years older than Gilbert, still. I also purposely ignored Customs and passports. That would make this story too impossible to tell. I am struggling to keep Anne, Anne in her POVs and Angus in Gilbert's, if I slip and use the wrong name or pronoun, please don't hesitate to let me know. 
> 
> Stay safe, self isolate when you can.

After he had the dream, Gilbert found it hard not to remember the dream every time he talked to or saw Angus. He noticed how soft Angus's hair looked when the wind would pick it up and ruffle it, the cute habit Angus had of rubbing his earlobe when he was reading, the way he threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh, something that was a rare occurrence because Angus usually just smiled or chuckled softly. It had become Gilbert's secret obsession to cause those deep carefree laughs, even setting himself up for a joke from Bash, just to see Angus smile. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way, he hadn't ever noticed things like that about anybody, not even girls, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He knew that he wasn't attracted to men in general, he'd lived on a ship with only men for nearly three years, and had become extremely close to Bash and never once felt any hint of attraction for him. 

Gilbert had always been a deep thinker, he would mentally chew on things before forming an opinion or acting, so he spent many hours thinking about it. He concluded that there had to be something unique about Angus, it wasn't like Angus spent any time trying to flirt with Gilbert or paid him any extra attention, Gilbert had decided it must have been a combination of several things. He had been thinking about returning to Avonlea and how he would want a wife in the future, he had been feeling lonely, but not in an isolated sort of way, he couldn't form it into clear thoughts, but he felt like something was missing, and he was beginning to believe he was ready to start looking for the future Mrs. Blythe. He thought the biggest catalyst for these feelings had to be what the prostitutes had said about Angus, him being pretty and would make a successful whore. Gilbert knew about sex and sexual urges, he felt them all the time since puberty, but for the most part he had been able to control them. Before he left Avonlea he would touch and stroke his cock most nights, less frequently as his father's conditioned worsened and then stopped altogether when he died. It was months before he even felt the urge to again, but he had ignored it, refusing to become one of the men who did it in their hammocks at night. Those urges were happening quite frequently now, ever since the dream. The blasted dream, that was the main instigator to these feelings, he was sure of that, he could vividly remember the smells, the feeling of the sun on his face between the leaves and branches, how hot Angus's mouth had felt on his cock. 

He also caught himself staring at Angus's lips more than he was comfortable with, they were full and deep pink, sometimes they would be almost red, like in his dream. Gilbert had wondered what they would feel like under his own fingers, under his own lips. They did have a feminine shape to them, had any man ever had such a perfect Cupid's Bow on their top lip? His preoccupation with Angus and the feelings that were stirring inside of him, had one other effect on him. While he wasn't afraid of those feelings, he knew he wouldn't act on them, he was ready to leave the isolation of the ship and return to Avonlea. He had given them almost a month to decide and he would ask them both if they were ready to become his partners.

Anne had finished up her nightly routine, washing her hands and face, and brushing her teeth before bed and was walking through the corridor toward the sleeping quarters, Sully was making his way toward her, he was a big man, well over six feet, and wide. His shoulders were massive and he had a thick neck and arms, they didn't interact much, he kept to his group of friends, and Anne stuck with Bash and Gilbert. She nodded at him in greeting as they were about to pass each other. When suddenly she felt him grab her arms and press her against the wall, his sour breath wafting over her face as he leaned down close to her.

"You want to meet up for some fun later?" He asked. She could barely hear him, her heart was pounding, she felt trapped, he was so much bigger and stronger, if he wanted to he could hurt her. She began to fight, she couldn't lash out because he had her arms still, but she began to twist and push against him, trying to break his hold. "That mouth is too pretty to waste. I would love to slide my cock right in there, then I would bend you over and slide it right up your tight little arse."

Anne shook her head and muttered no to him. "Don't fight it, Walters. If you are a good little boy, I won't let my crew play with you after." Anne felt tears in her eyes and her supper threatening to return. He would hurt her, take her and she wouldn't be able to stop him. And he would discover the truth of her being a woman and would tell the captain and she would be kick off the ship.

"Hey Sully...how's it going?" Came Gilbert's voice from down the corridor. Sully loosened his hold on Anne but didn't let go. 

"Hey Gilbert." He responded, looking over his shoulder. 

"Everything alright here?" Gilbert asked as he moved closer. 

"Everything is great, Walters and me were just making plans...weren't we?" Anne couldn't speak, but she shook her head almost violently, and Sully finally let her go, she slipped out from under him and moved quickly behind Gilbert and started walking toward their sleeping quarters. "Night Walters...sleep tight." He exaggerated the word tight and she remembered him talking about her tight ass and putting his dick up there, and actually gagged on the vomit that was close to coming. 

"Leave him alone." Gilbert said as he turned to follow her. She nearly ran to her hammock, got in and curled up into a tight ball, the tears already silently spilling down her face. 

"Angus, it's ok. Bash and I won't let him hurt you." She opened her eyes and turned to look at him, he had saved her, no one had ever saved her. He was a brave knight who had stood up to a horrible giant, twice his size and had defended her. For no reason other than he was a good person, a true friend. 

"I have to get off this ship."

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyebrows joining together as he looked concerned.

"As soon as we dock in Boston, I am getting off this ship. I can't stay here." She didn't know what she would do next, but she was a survivor, she would manage.

"Perfect." He answered with a huge grin. Did he want her to leave? "We can all get off in Boston, get a one way job back to Halifax or Charlottetown and then we can all go home to Avonlea."

"Your farm." She realized, he still wanted her to be his partner.

"Yeah, I was going to tell you both I needed a decision, seems like yours might be easier to make, right about now." Her heart that had been just slowing down, started to beat wildly again. Halifax, he wanted her to return to Halifax.

"Not Halifax. I can't...won't go back there." She told him, he was quiet for a moment and stared into her eyes, she noticed he had golden flecks in his brown eyes. 

"Okay." He said nodding. "We will avoid Halifax. I'll see if I can get Ben to switch bunks with me." Ben was her closest neighbour, they got along well but she knew Gilbert was trying to make her feel safer. 

"Thank you Blythe." She told him, not able to say more because she was overcome with emotions. She still had terror and panic, flooding her veins, but she felt gratitude, safety, acceptance, friendship and love. How she loved him and Bash, the only real friends she had ever had and the closest thing she had to family. She finally understood what Bash and Gilbert meant when they said they were family.

"Hey...we're brothers." Gilbert said simply and she felt the tears well up in her eyes again.

"We are." She agreed. 

"My God, it is beautiful." She whispered as they got closer to PEI. They had managed to find a job on a freighter heading to Sydney, Nova Scotia, a port city on the north east side of Nova Scotia, from there they caught a ferry heading to Charlottetown. Gilbert had stood on the deck, looking toward where the island would be, and as it slowly became visible in the grey mist his smile grew wider. It was like the heavens knew he was nearly home because the clouds cleared up, and the warm sun chased away the mist and the red and green island was in front of them. As they got closer, Anne could see more and more, and she realized that Gilbert hadn't described it accurately, it was far more than he had said. Tall red sand dunes, edging long swaths of red sand beaches, dotted by lush green patches of trees and long grass, blowing in the gentle wind. 

"You haven't seen anything yet. Wait til you see this beauty in the full bloom of summer." Gilbert laughed, slapping her on the back. "We are back early enough we might just be able to get a small crop planted, and the orchard will definitely be alright, even without maintenance. That combined with our savings and paychecks, should be enough to get us through the winter. There are plenty of farms around too, we can always get jobs come harvest time."

"Blythe, I still don't know who is crazier here, you for bringing us here, or us for coming." Bash commented, staring in wonder at the island as they were pulling into the bustling harbour.

"You won't think me crazy when you are biting into one of our apples come September." Gilbert told him. 

She would feel better when they were at his farm, where no one would know who she was or why she was hiding.

Gilbert noted the way Angus's eyes darted around as they walked through Charlottetown, he had been quieter, if that were possible, since the incident with Sully on the ship. He and Bash had taken turns to always stay with Angus, until they arrived in Boston, it was evident from the way he had reacted that night, and the way he stiffened and cowered when Sully was nearby, that Angus was terrified of Sully. Gilbert also thought that Angus had probably been abused by someone, in the past, in Halifax, which is why he refused to go back there. He hadn't been keen on the idea of landing in Sydney but that was the fastest option, they could have taken a train from Boston to Montreal and then a train to Halifax, which Angus refused to do. Gilbert wanted to let Angus know that he could talk to him about any of the horrors from his past, but he had decided to wait, to let Angus see the farm, live there for a bit and feel safe. Then he would be a shoulder to cry on, if needed.

He still hadn't resolved the jealousy he felt when he had seen Sully, standing so close to Angus, holding him and saying crude things. Things that Gilbert himself was so tempted to do to Angus. Gilbert had never felt like that before, had never coveted something that another person had but as soon as that hot, white rage had flooded his body, he knew what it was. He stayed rational enough to not try and punch Sully, Sully would have ripped Gilbert's arms off beat him with them, the anger hadn't made him stupid. 

"We are so close now. We just got to catch the train to Bright River and then we can walk the rest of the way. "

They were nearly to the train station when they heard a voice call out. "Gilbert Blythe! It is you." Gilbert turned to look across the street and saw an old familiar face, one that he hadn't seen in three years. 

"Miss Cuthbert. How wonderful to see you. How is everything?"

"Well Gilbert, everything was just as normal as always, until I noticed you. Where have you been? Why didn't you tell anyone you were leaving?" She asked. 

"After my dad died, I needed to get away. I've been on a steamship."

"A steamship? Where on earth did you go?" She asked eyes widening in wonder.

"Everywhere." He told her with a laugh.

"Your father would have loved that." She told him somewhat soberly but a soft smile on his face.

"I think you're right. Now, let me introduce you to my friends...brothers. This is Sebastian Lacroix and Angus Walters, and this is Marilla Cuthbert, our neighbour." He noted that Marilla looked uncomfortable being in the presence of a black man, but she was far too mannerly to acknowledge that. 

"Nice to meet you Mr. Lacroix and Mr. Walters." She greeted them, they both nodded and greeted her. 

"Well we should be off, we want to catch the train home."

"Nonsense. Matthew is here as well and we have our wagon, there is more than enough room for you all to ride back with us." As she flicked her eyes over them again. 

"We would hate to inconvenience you Miss Cuthbert." Bash offered her an out and Gilbert sensed he was aware of uneasiness. 

"Fiddlesticks. Come along, we will find Matthew. Rachel is going to be beside herself when I tell her you are back. She hates when she isn't the first to know something."

"Well you can also let her know that Bash and Angus will be staying with me and working the farm as partners." Gilbert told Marilla with a laugh, Rachel Lynde would never change.

"How wonderful, it's such a fine house and it's a waste to let the land go unused. I supposed you will find out soon enough, but we, most of Avonlea that is, have been harvesting your apples, so they wouldn't be wasted. You will likely be receiving many jars of preserves as thanks when word gets out you are back. "

"I'm glad they were enjoyed and well used. I did feel guilty that they may be rotting away each Autumn. "

"Matthew and our boy also tilled your fields every year, to keep the soil healthy." She informed him and he knew he shouldn't be surprised, Avonlea was a place where your neighbours took care of you. 

"He offered to help me with the farm, when Dad died, Mr. Cuthbert was the only person offering to help, when others were making offers to buy it."

"Well...that's Matthew for you." She noted with a proud smile. 

They found Matthew by the feed store, loading up the carriage with several sacks of feed, joining some seeds, and other supplies. "Matthew look who I found." Matthew turned at the sound of his sister's voice and looked at Gilbert Blythe. He offered a shy smile and tipped his hat. 

"Gilbert, good to see you son."

"It's good to see you too Mr. Cuthbert" Matthew looked over Gilbert's shoulder and saw Bash and Angus, his eyes growing wide and he immediately became flustered and shy.

"I've offered Gilbert and his friends Mr. Lacroix and Mr. Walters a ride back to Avonlea with us." Marilla told him. "This is my brother, Matthew Cuthbert." Matthew tipped his had and said "greetings" quietly and then turned his back and began to lift more sacks into the wagon. 

"Let us help you." Angus finally piped up and grabbed a sack and lifted it, Bash and Gilbert joining in and soon the wagon was loaded and they were sitting in the back on top of the sacks. 

"Next stop Avonlea." Matthew announced shyly.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prodigal son returns. Anne has a real home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I tell you all how appreciative I am for the comments you guys leave? Honestly to see some of them bring tears to my eyes, and they all make me smile. All I want to do is share this insanity in my brain and you guys are so wonderful to let me know you enjoy it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
> 
> I am still working, so I won't be able to do an update for a a couple of days.
> 
> Please stay safe, stay home when possible.

It was spectacular. So many colours, it seemed like a million shades of green alone. The worn road was deep red, lined with tall green grasses and clean white, wild flowers, they danced in the wind coming off the ocean. She couldn't believe she was going to live in such a beautiful place, she had always been in Halifax, cramped, dirty, smokey, mean and cruel, and then on the ship, cramped, dirty, smokey but not quite mean and cruel, not with her brothers there. 

She could be fresh and clean here, clean hair and clothes, food without grit and dirt in it. Food that wasn't stale, or beginning to spoil, she wouldn't have to cut the mould off a heel of bread. It would be hard work, farming, but she wasn't afraid of hard work, it would be so rewarding to help not only herself but Gilbert and Bash too. She imagined she could be perfectly happy. She was facing Bash and Gilbert, she was behind Mr. Cuthbert and she couldn't contain the loud gasp that escaped her when the path was surrounded on both sides by large trees heavy with white blossoms, they created almost a floral tunnel, where she could reach up and stroke the flowers as they passed by. 

"Oh Mr. Cuthbert...what do they call this place?" She asked. 

"The Avenue." He answered raising his voice to be heard over the sounds of the horse and creaking of the wagon. 

"It's wonderful...wonderful." She stated. To herself she gave it a new name 'The White Way of Delight', because she really did feel simply delighted by the beautiful vision. 

"I never really noticed how beautiful the Avenue is, until now." Gilbert commented as he too reached out to touch a blossom. 

"Sometimes you have to leave a place to really appreciate it." Bash noted, and Anne noticed her too was looking around and smiling. 

She was sad when they left the White Way of Delight, but looked around eagerly to see the next thing that would enrapture her. A solitary Weeping Willow was standing in the middle of a small body of water, like a sentinel on duty. 

"That's Barry's pond." Marilla told them. "The Barry are our neighbours." Another uninspiring name, Anne thought, she would call it The Lake of Shining Waters, because the sun shimmered on the surface. 

"Now once you get settled, you'll come to Green Gables for supper." Marilla told them, and Anne understood it was not an invitation they could decline. 

"Of course Miss Cuthbert, and thank you for your generous offer." Gilbert responded. 

"And I'll come by later with some bread and cheese so you won't all starve. Don't suppose any of you thought to get some supplies?" She asked them, and they all looked sheepish. 

"That is so kind of you Miss Cuthbert." Bash said to her and Anne nodded in agreement. 

"Well, one of you will need a wife soon, to cook and clean for you all." Marilla commented and Bash began to cough, Gilbert smiled, used to Marilla's forwardness and Anne blushed. 

"We know how to clean, and I can cook a bit." Gilbert told her, "I had to learn to help with my Dad." Anne didn't mention that she could cook as well, she had stayed with many families and had learned at a young age, she also had a lot of practice working at the restaurant in Halifax. She had secured the job when she had turned 18 and left the asylum, the hotel was where she had first met Roy. 

"It's just around the next bend." Gilbert announced with exuberance, standing up and trying to see his home. Anne looked too and when it came into view she could barely believe it. Part of her had been suspicious, that Gilbert had lied and there was no farm, or perhaps exaggerated the size and quality of it, but there it was. It was a two storey house, made of grey stones, had white window frames, in need of painting from neglect, the porch had white trim to match. It stood on a slight hill, a shed attached to the side, a large barn across the yard. She could imagine it in the winter, tendrils of smoke escaping the chimney, warm lights in the windows to guide you home. 

"It looks like its not even real, like a picture from a story book." She said to Gilbert, who chuckled, but she noticed tears in his eyes. As they got closer she could see the small cemetery, surrounded by a fence, she saw Gilbert staring at it as well. Matthew stopped the wagon in front of the farmhouse and Anne, Gilbert, and Bash got out of the wagon, grabbed their few belongings and thanked the Cuthberts for the ride.

"Just being neighbourly." Marilla commented, smiling down at them and then Matthew clicked his tongue and the horse began walking again. 

"It seems smaller." Gilbert noted, and Anne thought it was huge, the largest home she had ever lived in, besides the over crowded orphan asylum. 

Gilbert gave them a tour of his home, their new home, they pulled the drop cloths off the furniture and started dusting the surfaces, opening the windows and doors to bring in fresh air. Anne took a bedroom on the second floor, down the hall from Gilbert's room. He decided to stay in his childhood bedroom for now, not wanting to go into the master bedroom, where his dad stayed before he got too sick to climb the stairs, Bash took one of the spare rooms on the main floor. She spun around in her room, it had two large windows that let in the light, overlooked the small cemetery and the large vacant fields where come sort of crop would grow. The room was larger than she could have dreamed and she wished she could paper the walls with pink paper, adorned with small flowers or sea shells, and a gauzy canopy and curtains that would surround her bed and float around her at night. Angus couldn't have that though, so she would happily make due with the beige walls and patchwork quilt, still grander than anything she had before.

A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, Gilbert was walking toward the cemetery, hat in his hand, head bowed. It made her sad to see him so forlorn, he was always so cheerful and pleasant, when he was sad, it made her feel sad too. She watched him for a few moments, as he sat on the bench outside the fence of the cemetery, his glossy curls shining in the sun, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, finally she tore herself away and went to see if there was anything in the pantry that could be salvaged.

"This more than bread and cheese." Bash noted as he dug through the basket, Marilla had brought with her. It had two loaves of bread, some hard cheese wrapped in cloth, a jar of strawberry preserves, a jar of sliced apples, spices floating around inside, a jar of milk, a piece of smoked ham, and some sort of pastry filled with cream.

"Are these your award winning plum puffs?" Gilbert asked excitedly, he remembered how delicious those were. 

"They are. You boys should have a nice treat to celebrate your return. Now I can't stay, but if you need anything, come over to Green Gables and we will try and help."

"Much appreciated Miss Cuthbert, and if need any assistance please let us know."

"I will do." She nodded a goodbye, took her basket and swept out the door. 

"I am not waiting for dessert." Bash announced and popped a plum puff into his mouth and groaned in pleasure. "These are better than any pastry I have had." Angus grabbed one too at that and also agreed they were incredible. Then they cut the bread and made some sandwiches with the cheese and ham, with the apple preserves as a side dish. It was a humble meal but it was tasty, filled their stomachs and made them grateful for Marilla's hospitality. 

"I'm going to go explore the forests." Angus announced. 

"May I join you. I've missed the woods here." Gilbert enquired and it wasn't a lie, he did miss the woods here, and he wanted to be around Angus.

"Sure, at least I won't get lost with you there."

"I'm going to try and start a fire and maybe we can have some tea before bed." Bash told them. 

They walked in silence for a long time, through the wide empty fields to the forest pathway Gilbert used to take to school. "If we stay on this path, we will come out near the schoolhouse. If we go this way we will pass by the Barry's property and Barry's pond." He gave Angus the option for what he wanted to see.

Angus took the path toward the Barry's. "Do you have friends here still?"

"I expect many of my classmates will be here in Avonlea still, some married already."

"Does it seem strange to you?" Angus asked. 

"In a way, not everyone gets married right out of school here, I suspect many of them went on to college, some would be working on their family farms, or maybe moved on to fishing trawlers."

"Do you regret not finishing school here and then on to college?"

"I do in a way. I will never regret my leaving here, I needed to, and I met you and Bash, but if I had stayed I could be done college by now." They had reached Barry's Pond and he led Angus around it.

"Is that what you want? A college education?"

"I think I do. I'll be the oldest student there but I...I haven't said this out loud to anyone yet, but I think I want to be a doctor." Gilbert felt himself smiling at the lightness off his shoulders. He had finally admitted it, said it for the universe to hear.

"I think you will make a wonderful doctor. You truly care for people, and you have a way that puts people at ease...even when they are terrified." Angus told him, and Gilbert knew he was referring to his own terror. 

"You know, it's not too late for you either. I could give you some lessons, I think I have some old school books around."

"I am terrible at math, but I did enjoy school. Would you really help me?" Angus's blue eyes were round and filled with hope. Gilbert again felt a tug at his heart, this poor kid is so used to having no one.

"Of course, we're family."

"Thank you Gilbert!" He exclaimed and suddenly threw his arms around Gilbert, pulling him in for a hug. Gilbert froze for a second, surprised by the affection, they had never truly embraced before, and as Angus warmth spread over him, he lifted his arms and hugged Angus back. The rough fabric of Angus's hat brushing against his cheek, the worn cotton of his shirt, soft against Gilbert's hands, he heard Angus softly sigh contentedly and felt his dick begin to stir. Abruptly he broke the hug, not wanting Angus to notice, or get the wrong idea, he was fond of him, they were family, but Gilbert would never return any romantic interest toward Angus. Angus pulled back too, and continued walking, as if nothing had happened, and maybe nothing had. Was Gilbert imagining things that weren't there? 

That night alone in her room she removed her bindings, the first time she took them off and kept them off in months, she felt like she could breath deeper, smell better and even lay down more comfortably. She slept in a pair of long underwear and an undershirt, revelling in the freedom of movement she felt, the men's clothing she wore was already better than the dresses and underclothes women wore, but without the bindings she felt even freer. Being off that ship and being on this farm made her feel freer. She would have to stay in hiding still, because she couldn't risk word getting to the mainland, but she was getting used to being a man. 

The hug she had shared with Gilbert came flashing back to her, she could count on her hand how many times she had been hugged, and none of them had felt like when Gilbert had put his arms around her. It had just felt right, they were perfectly matched for an embrace, his hands had gone to her back, hers around his neck, her cheek had pressed against his chest, it had felt warm, and safe, and right. She knew he heard her sighing happily, she hadn't meant for it to escape but it had just been an almost perfect moment. Her being disguised as a boy being the one thing ruining the moment.

"As if Gilbert Blythe would be interested in you. Even if he knew you were a woman." She was ugly, with big teeth, freckles, horrid red hair, she was an orphan, no family or even an education to make her respectable. And she was ruined, if he ever found out what Roy had done to her...he would be repulsed and would never consider her a proper prospect for a bride. And then there was her being a murderess, there was nothing about her that deserved Gilbert Blythe, so she would be happy to stay in his orbit, if only as his brother.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The farming begins, Anne begins to settle in Avonlea and meets a kindred spirit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the latest chapter, I know very, very little about farming, so forgive my vagueness. The first chapter is in third person, no POV. You should notice I stole a scene directly from the TV show. 
> 
> As always, I thank you all so much for reading, giving kudos and commenting.

They decided on a crop of high yield potatoes, they had a shorter growing season and the seeds would produce more potatoes. Matthew had already been out a month before and had tilled the fields, churned up all the hard packed earth to make planting easier, but it also allowed the nutrients in the soil to mix, and allowed a better distribution of moisture. They spent the first day, walking the fields and looking for any large stones that had been dug up by the tilling. the seeds were planted, or sown by hand, Gilbert's farm didn't have any of the new fancy equipment, but it didn't take them long to get the seeds in the ground. Angus and Bash listened intently as Gilbert explained things and asked questions, but he told them not to be too worried because he would be there the next spring to help them, and even if he did move on to College, he would always be there to help them. 

They all went into Charlottetown for the seeds, while there they bought a horse and a dairy cow, for their farm. They would need pigs and chickens but Gilbert assured them they could get those from neighbours. 

"We won't even have to pay with cash, we can help fix fences, chop wood, odd jobs." They picked up some food supplies too, although they didn't need a lot, as Marilla had predicted, there were visits from several ladies in town, apple sauce, apple butter, apple preserves, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, a few apple pies, were cheerfully dropped off, with a thank you for the apples and of course, meeting the newest townspeople. Bash created a huge stir, partly because most residents had never seen a black man, or if they had, certainly never engaged in conversation with one. Many were horrified at the idea, but they couldn't be outwardly rude because the Blythes, even if there was only one remaining, were a well respected family, and if the Cuthberts and the Lyndes had accepted Bash, then the rest felt like they had to as well.

Angus created a stir as well, but not for the same reasons, suddenly an eligible bachelor, who was part owner of the Blythe farm appeared in town, the rumours spread like wildfire, how he was extremely handsome and well built, very polite and mannerly, this gossip was followed up by another wave of visitors, all of the female kind and all around his age, of course Gilbert was still considered the handsomest boy in Avonlea, if not all of PEI, and the fact that he had traveled the world and returned with such a wealth of experience and maturity only made him more enticing to the older girls and young women, they delivered more food, pots of stew, soups, meat pies, shepherd's pie, biscuits, rolls, and bread. Meaning of course a second visit to pick up the empty pot, dish, pan or basket. 

"If I had know you two mokes could bring me in so much food, I would have come here months ago." Bash declared, unbuttoning the button on his pants to release some pressure. 

"Me? they are practically drooling over Gilbert." Angus defended himself. "That blonde one is engaged and she still shamefully flirted with him.

"Ruby is just a good friend, she may have had a crush years ago but, she's engaged to a great guy, my friend Moody."

"You say the word, that engagement is off." Bash teased, and Gilbert just shook his head and laughed, used to their teasing. 

"Speaking of Ruby, she told me that Diana Barry is back and next week, there is going to be a huge picnic to celebrate. We're all invited."

"And we have dinner with the Cuthbert's tomorrow." Angus piped up. 

"I hope there are more of those plum poofs." Bash said.

"Puffs. If you ever want to eat another one, make sure you call them by the right name." Gilbert advised.

They spent their evenings sitting on the porch, talking and making plans, or going for long walks in the forest before the sun set, or until the mosquitoes got too bad and they would escape inside for the night. 

They arrived at the Cuthbert house a few minutes early, and let Marilla fuss over them, as she led them to the sitting room. "The men should be in soon." She explained, and Anne remembered that the Cuthbert's had adopted a boy to help on the farm. She remembered the excitement when she thought she would be the one taking a ferry across the channel to PEI, only to have her heart crushed. She could have been so happy here, meeting the young ladies that had come to visit, had shown her a glimpse of what life could have been, silk dresses, pretty ribbons, social engagements and gentleman callers. A family and a community to call her own, a life without terror, uncertainty and pain. While she used to hate the boy who took her place, she now felt happy for him, he would be loved and happy, and didn't everyone deserve that?

The back door opened and they heard feet stomping at the door. "You two wash up and then join us in the sitting room." Marilla called out. The pump on the sink came on, along with splashing and the deep rumble of two male voices, and then the footsteps came toward the room. "Here they are." Marilla announced as Matthew and a boy of about 14 or 15 entered, he was tall, had very blonde hair, and was quite tanned from the days out in the sun. Anne felt her stomach drop and her heart began to race. "This is our son Phillip." Phillip, the boy who had gone to PEI instead of her. Would he remember her? Would he reveal the truth. Phillip for his part, nodded and shook each of their hands, barely casting a second glance over her. 

They all chatted for a while before Marilla announced it was time to move to the table to eat, Anne had no idea what they were talking about, she had just stared out the window, unable to hear anything but the sound of her own heart. She only stood up because Gilbert grabbed her sleeve and tugged, she noticed all the rest had already moved into the kitchen.

"What's going on? You haven't said anything."

"I'm starting to feel sick."

"What the matter?" Gilbert immediately started to look at her closer for signs of illness.

"Just a bad headache and my stomach feels queasy." She lied easily. "Can you make my excuses and apologies to Marilla?" He nodded, his eyebrows raised in concern.

"I'll see you back at home, have some tea and toast." He advised and she nodded, grabbed her cap and quietly left the house. 

She took a long walk, instead of going right home, she wandered deep into the woods, Avonlea didn't feel quite as safe anymore, not with the possibility of Phillip remembering her and spilling the beans. It was hard to stay gloomy when the late afternoon sun was casting everything in a golden light, she decided to head to the cliff, Gilbert had taken her and Bash there, it looked over the ocean, and it was quite calming there. 

She was just standing there, letting the breeze caress her face, she felt more relaxed already. Phillip had barely looked at her, he hadn't remembered her, and they hadn't even had a lot of interaction at the asylum, males and females were usually separated, he was also younger than her, it had been three years since he left, there was no way he remembered her. She would be fine, she was still safe. 

"Cole!" She heard a woman call out and she spun around to see an angel walking toward her. A perfect specimen of a lady, everything Anne had ever dreamed of being, but never could be. "Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were my friend Cole. He likes to come here too."

"It is a beautiful place for self reflection. I'm Angus Walters, I'm staying with Gilbert at the Blythe farm." She introduced herself.

"Oh yes, my father told me all about it. Mother is truly scandalized by a black man living in Avonlea." She told Anne, with a conspiratorial wink. "I'm Diana Barry."

"Gilbert told me about you, and I must admit, I have wandered the forests around your pond." Anne remembered her manners and took Diana's hand in greeting and gave her a slight bow. "A pleasure to meet you."

She gave a small curtsey and grinned at Anne, "The pleasure is mine good sir. Will you be coming to the picnic next week? Mother told me that you were all invited."

"I think we will." Anne answered, not sure if she would, wanting to limit her exposure to Phillip.

"Wonderful." They were quiet for a moment but Anne could feel Diana's eyes on her, studying her. "Mr. Walters, the sun is already beginning to set, and I am afraid I may trip over a root in the darkening forest, could I beg you to escort me home?"

It would be considered extremely impolite to refuse her request so Anne nodded her head and replied "Of course, but call me Angus please."

"Only if you call me Diana." They began walking. "So you met Gilbert on the ship he was working on?"

"Yes, seems like it was an eternity ago, but it's only been about six months now."

"How did you come to be on the ship?" She asked. 

"I needed a job, and wanted to see some of the world." Anne told the usual lie.

"And did you? Se the world?"

"More of it than I could have imagined I would."

"I recently have returned from abroad as well."

"Gilbert said you were back, where were you?"

C"an I trust you to keep a secret Angus?" Diana asked, giving Anne a sideways look, and Anne just nodded. "I was supposed to be at Finishing School in Paris, and I was for a while, but I left. I ran away and stayed with my English cousins. Mother and Father were furious, but they didn't want to create a scandal, so they allowed me to stay there. I suppose they had hoped I would at least find a suitable husband among my cousin Bertie's friends, most of them are aristocracy. I found them all terribly dull." 

Anne could scarcely believe it, the perfect example of a perfect lady would have to be Diana Barry, and while she outwardly behaved perfectly, they were a clear rebellious streak to her. "What happens now?" Anne asked.

"Mother and Father throw every eligible bachelor at me from here to Toronto. That's the real reason for the picnic next week. Father is bringing all his business associates and contacts here."

"Will they force you to marry someone?"

"They can try. Father has threatened to cut me off, but it is a hollow threat. He knows that Aunt Jo...my Great Aunt Josephine, will leave me enough to comfortably live on, even if I never take a husband."

Rich people led very complicated lives of drama and intrigue, Anne discovered that evening, she thought all they had to care about was whether the tea had steeped long enough. Anne decided right there and then that Diana Barry was a kindred spirit, she was truly everything Anne wished she could be, she was clearly smart, and she was living her life, not allowing her parents to control it. "You might be the most remarkable woman I have ever met Diana Barry." She declared, and Diana laughed, a soft musical tinkling sound. 

"Wait til you meet Aunt Jo."

They chattered on until they arrived at the Barry home, it seemed like a palace to Anne. "Thank you for seeing me home safely Angus." 

"Anytime Diana, but in the future you shouldn't walk in the woods with strange men."

"Oh Angus, if Gilbert made you his partner and brought you to his home to live, I know I can completely trust you." She waved goodbye and continued the rest of the way to the house, turning around once to wave, and then entered the mansion.

She went straight home after that, it was getting dark and the other two would be home soon, she checked on the horse and the cows, refilled their water troughs and went in and ate some food, left behind by the visiting girls and then went up to her room. She took off her cap, and looked in the mirror, hating what she saw. She was no beauty like the ethereal Diana, she was skinny and scrawny, hair too short, and too red, she looked almost elfin, her ears even stuck out too much. And her horrible freckles, Diana's skin was like peaches and cream, hers was splotchy and red from the sun. She ran her fingers through her hair, Diana's had been swept up, with soft ringlets, framing her face, topped with a fashionable hat decorated by an ostrich feather. Through the mirror, over her shoulder she caught sight of an old blanket, folded on the end of her bed, it was knitted or crocheted and had long fringes of black yarn hanging down, Anne grabbed it and covered her head with it, allowing the fringes to settled over her head, as though she had jet black hair, and she smiled sadly at the image, she still had her own face, she would never be beautiful like Diana or Ruby. She took off the blanket and laid down in bed, picking up an old book of Gilbert's father and began to read.

When Gilbert and Bash came back later, Angus was already in bed, Gilbert checked in on Angus on his way to bed, seeing the light was still on under the door. He knocked softly and when there was no answer he opened the door and peeked in. "Angus? You alright Kid?" He asked softly. There was no reply, he saw Angus laying on top of the blankets, his back to Gilbert, Gilbert couldn't stop staring. Angus's usually baggy pants were clinging to his body, allowing Gilbert to see the outline of his bottom, it was so round and looked so soft, the way his hip seemed to curve inward at his waist, reminded Gilbert of a woman's form. He was tempted to lay on the bed behind Angus, run his hand up the side of his leg to his waist and wrap his arms around Angus, pressing himself into his ass. The spell was broken when Angus muttered something unintelligible and rolled onto his back, mouth hanging open and a line of drool shining in the light. 

"Night Kid." Gilbert finally said, turning the lantern off and leaving for his own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diana is out of character, as far as we knew her before Anne arrived, but we know she was always this way deep inside, she needed to get away from her parents.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of the picnic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of our favourites are appearing!! I'm already seven chapters in and so much has to happen still, so I am going to speed things up a bit. I know I haven't got the stamina, or attention span, for a long 40 chapter story so I need to move it along. 
> 
> I'll try to get another chapter posted tomorrow, but it is Easter and since I can't go to my family's like I usually do, I'll be cooking. I'm not complaining, I am very lucky to have my health, food and a family to cook for. Please stay safe, and continue to socially distance. 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments, they are my inspiration.

Gilbert realized that the Barry picnic was going to much more formal than a simple picnic, and that, had the three of them, going through their belongings for appropriate attire. Anne had nothing, she had added a couple of more spare shirts and pants but none of them would do for such an event. Bash had a suitable dress shirt but his nicer pants had a ripped seam. Gilbert had a few nice things but they were from before he left, and none of them fit him still. "Angus, I think this one might fit you." Gilbert held up a pair of dark grey pants and a matching jacket. "I'm sure there is a shirt here too, and I bet these shoes would fit you, might have to stuff some paper in the toes but better than your work boots. Aha! Here is the shirt, the suit is a winter suit, but you can take off the jacket and sit in the shade.

"Thank you Gilbert, it will be fine.." She replied, taking the clothes to her room to try on. "I don't want to overstep...but what about some of your father's things? Would he have anything suitable for you or Bash?"

"I didn't even think of that, I'll check." 

They went to John Blythe's room while Anne went to change. The pants were snug over her hips, but everything else fit pretty good, she looked in the mirror and smiled, she had never looked so put together. She looked like she belonged, she could wear this in any city, town or village and people would smile and nod, no one would curl their lips in disgust and avoid her eyes. She wished it was a dress though, her ideal dress would be pink, something light and frothy, adorned with ribbons, bows, lace, beads, pearls, flounces and frills. She imagined such an overtly feminine dress, that no one would second guess that she was a woman. But redheads could't wear pink...everyone knew that, besides the fact that she was Angus Walters, a man, she could never show up in a dress. 

She went to see how the others were making out and found them in John's room, Gilbert's eyes were a little red, and he seemed intent on looking only in the wardrobe, as if refusing to look at the bed, or pictures in the room. "Well the Kid cleans up rather nicely." Bash commented and Gilbert looked over his shoulder and took a look, nodding and grinning.

"Looking very dashing Master Walters." He commented and Anne smiled at them.

"Did you find something?" She asked.

"We did, shoes and a tie for me, and look what Gilbert found for himself." Bash said pointing at a suit laying over the chair in the corner. It was light grey, had a matching vest and hat.

"So Gilbert got his appreciations of vests from his father?" Anne noted with a laugh, and Bash joined her. Gilbert's affinity for vests was always a running joke for them. 

"Laugh all you want, but I will be the epitome of a fine young man...if it fits." He retorted good naturedly. He almost never took offense to any of their teasing.

"Looking to land a Mrs. Blythe?" Bash asked him and Anne felt her heart sink, and swallowing the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat became impossible. It wouldn't be long before he took a wife, he was at a good age to get married, he had property, he was well traveled and everyone was attracted to his charisma and honest nature. Being one of the handsomest men she had ever met, didn't hurt, she recalled she had thought Roy was handsome, he had even been charming. Opened doors for her, brought her flowers, and small gifts, but that had been a mask, underneath that gleaming perfect smile, had been a monster. 

"You'll need to get those pants sewn, maybe Marilla would be willing to do it for you." Gilbert said to Bash, bringing Anne out of her memories.

"I can do it." She said and they both looked at her. "I had to learn, at one of the homes I stayed in, the Mother had arthritis and couldn't do the sewing anymore, so she made me learn. Got the spoon across my ass if my stitches were crooked." That was the truth, but she had already known how to sew by then. It was basic learning for the girls at the asylum. 

"Thanks Kid." Bash said handing the pants to her.

"There's an old sewing kit in the closet downstairs. Mrs. Kincannon used to use it when she came to help me with my Dad." Gilbert said as he pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him in only his undershirt. Anne tried not to stare, but his muscled shoulders and arms were hard not to admire. As he undid his pants and dropped them around his feet and stepped out of them, she felt her heart begin to speed up, his legs were long and muscled as well, a light covering of dark hair all over them. Gilbert didn't notice her staring but Bash did, he cleared his throat, and her eyes flicked over to him, he was studying her with a raised eyebrow. 

"Well, I will go change and hang this suit up to air out and look for that sewing kit." She told them and then tried to leave the room calmly. 

They had cleaned themselves, shaved...those that needed to, dressed in their freshly ironed clothes and made their way to Barry's Pond, where the picnic was taking place. Gilbert was used to attending an event thrown by the Barry's, he was expecting outlandish decorations, entertainment and the highest quality in foods. Bash would never have experienced anything like it before, never being invited into white society at home in Trinidad, and not being allowed in most upscale places in the ports he traveled, due to his colour. And Angus, having grown up alone, in an orphanage and foster homes, was certainly going to feel like a fish out of water. He had, at their request, spent a bit of time the night before, going over some of the etiquette rules that would be expected, fork use, bite size, chewing, they weren't animals, they used manners, but being thrust into a different level of society, they had never imagined they would welcomed into made them both nervous. "It won't be a formal sit down dinner, most likely it will be easy to eat things, food that is acceptable to eat with your fingers. You'll be fine, one trick is to look at how the others approach it and then copy them." 

One thing was certain, the Barry's never let you forget how wealthy they were. There were huge urns filled with gigantic floral arrangements, garden arbors, covered in the climbing Morning Glory vines, spaced out every few feet so it appeared as though you were walking through a flower tunnel. "It's beautiful." Angus gasped beside him, looking around. There was a quartet, playing lively music, a pair of acrobats, tumbling and balancing on one another's shoulders, a magician, surrounded by children and a few adults was performing a card trick, all the servers were dressed in tuxedos with pristine white gloves. The Barry's were standing under another trellis, this one heavy with gardenias, greeting guests. 

As they stood in line, waiting to say hello to their hosts, a server appeared holding several crystal punch glasses on a tray, offering them to those in line. "These won't have alcohol, Avonlea does not approve of public intoxication." Gilbert let them know, with a smirk, while none of them were heavy consumers of alcohol, they had plenty of fun memories of public intoxication together. 

It was a strange experience for Gilbert, he was wearing his father's old suit but it fit him perfectly, almost like it was made for him, and being back here at a large Avonlea function also felt like he was slipping on a suit, an old comfortable one, but he wasn't the same boy that left years ago, he was a man now and things were different...weren't they? "Gilbert Blythe how wonderful to see you." Mr. Barry greeted him with a strong handshake. 

"Good to see you too sir. Thank you for your generous invitation to myself and my..family. May I introduce Sebastian Lacroix and Angus Walters, this is George Barry, his wife Eliza, and daughter's Diana and Minnie May." 

"How wonderful to see you again Mr. Walters." Diana commented and Gilbert frowned, when had Angus met Diana."

"I wasn't aware you two had met."

"Only once, Mr. Walters generously walked me home one evening last week when I had wandered too long out by the cliffs. He didn't want me to be alone in the woods, when night was about to fall." She explained, but something in her eyes, made Gilbert think there was something more to the story, then she was saying. 

"It's good to see you again Di...Miss. Barry." Angus remembered his manners, and then thanked the Barrys for their invitation. While Bash was charming them, Gilbert studied Diana, she had grown even more beautiful, but he didn't feel a spark of attraction for her, he still felt the same warm friendship he always had.

"Why Miss Minnie May, I barely recognize you, you are practically grown. How many boy's hearts have you broken so far?" He teased and she frowned back at him and stuck out her tongue.

"Boys stink." And Gilbert couldn't really argue with that, they finished up, so the others arriving could greet their hosts and wandered into the party. 

"Gilbert!" Came a chorus of voices and he saw his old chums approaching him, Moody, Charlie, the Pauls and Arthur, all older, taller, wider..men. Did he look like that to the others? Did he look like a man with the ghost of the boy he used to be, just visible beneath the surface? The last time he had seen them, his father was being put in the frozen earth. He pushed those melancholy thoughts away and greeted his old friends, introducing his new ones to them. He allowed himself to be pulled away to find some other old friends and waved to Bash and Angus to go eat or mingle, before he was dragged toward Billy Andrews and men that were older than Gilbert.

"Looks like it's just us, Kid." Bash noted dryly, as Anne stared at Gilbert as he smiled his easy smile. What would it be like to be that admired and respected?

"What should we do?" Anne asked nervously, without Gilbert, they knew almost no one, she felt like an interloper. 

"Smile and let them know you belong. We were invited and warmly greeted by the Barry's, we actually do belong." He laughed and she joined him, his laughter was usually infectious.

They looked at the acrobats for a while, Anne was enchanted with how the men were able to balance in all sorts of twisted shapes and forms, Bash declared them good but he had seen better in Hong Kong and Sao Paulo. They were on their way to watch the magician, when they were approached by a few young ladies that had visited them at the farm, she recognized one as the blonde that had flirted with Gilbert, Ruby. She couldn't recall the other's names. 

"Good afternoon Mr Lacroix, Mr. Walters." A curvy one said, Anne wondered how she could see if she battered her eyes so frequently. 

"Afternoon ladies." Bash replied, tipping his hat and Anne followed. 

"I'm Tillie, this is Ruby and Jane." She introduced her friends. "How are you enjoying the picnic?"

"Quite well, it is a remarkable event." Bash answered.

"It's not what I envisioned when Gilbert said we were invited to a picnic." Anne added, and all three girls laughed enthusiastically. Bash raised his eyebrow and glanced at Anne. 

"Well the Barry's rarely have simple events." Jane said, and Ruby nodded in agreement. 

"We were just going to look at the magic tricks, would you like to join us?" Tillie asked them. Bash and Anne agreed and they all began to walk in a small group toward the magician, Jane and Ruby walking on either side of Anne, and Tillie and Bash following. 

"So how are you all settling in?" Tillie asked them. 

"Pretty well, we got the seeds planted, we've been working on some of the harvesting equipment, cleaning it up." Bash told her.

"We spent a couple of days on the barn, we're going to need a barn cat to keep the mice away."

"Why just yesterday we went over to Paul's house to see his kittens." Jane said, "They were so sweet...oh!" She stumbled and Anne automatically reached out to catch her, Jane clinging to her arm, while she righted herself.

"Thank you Angus, I don't know what happened, it must have been a hole or a root."

"My pleasure, Miss Andrews." Anne saw no hole or root in the area, figured Jane was lying but wasn't sure why.

"Jane please." She insisted. 

They watched the magician, Anne looking keenly for how the tricks were accomplished and was proud of herself for seeing the magician, palm the coin in his hand, in one case. She knew the rest must be slight of hand too, but he worked too quickly for her. She clapped with wonder along with the rest of the audience, when he completed a trick. 

The girls bid them goodbye after a while and Bash and Anne made their way to the table with the food on it, both of them relieved that Gilbert had been right about most of it being finger foods. They allowed the servers there to load up their plates and headed to one of the tables in the shade to eat. Meat filled pastries, melted in their mouths, tiny little sandwiches, layered with meats, cheeses and spreads. 

"The smartest thing either of us has ever done was come to this place with Blythe, all these people want to do is feed us delicious food." Bash said gleefully, popping a cracker with some meat and chopped vegetables into his mouth, Anne had to agree.

"There you are. I've told my Aunt Jo about you both and she would love to meet you." Diana announced as she walked up to their table, with a tall lanky boy with light hair. 

"We would love too, meet her." Anne replied and Bash agreed. 

"This is Cole, one of my best friends." Diana introduced the boy. "He is an incredible artist and he lives in Charlottetown with Aunt Jo, so he can attend art school there."

Anne would later be surprised to discovered Aunt Jo was a kindred spirit, but in that first moment she terrified Anne. She sat on her chair under a tree, as though it were a throne, she had the air of a queen, back ramrod straight, chin held high, and while she didn't mince words she wasn't cruel.

"Ahh the Caribbean man and the orphan." She said as they approached and Bash burst out laughing at this. "Perhaps two of the most talked about people here today." That made Anne feel uncomfortable, she didn't want people talking about her, she wanted to stay anonymous, she had too much to lose if people started to look into her past. 

"Aunt Jo do not scare them away."

"I would do no such thing." She huffed. "Over my many long years, I have learned that the most interesting people are the ones that stand out from the pack. Now both of you sit here with me and tell me all about yourselves." If Anne thought Gilbert was listening to every word and detail, she wondered how she would be able to continue her disguise with a someone like Josephine Barry. Fortunately for her, Bash launched into a conversation with Josephine and Anne was able to insert a line or two without seeming like she was avoiding talking. After about fifteen minutes Josephine stood, clutched her cane and announced she wanted to stroll around Barry pond and that Angus would accompany her. 

'Oh shit.' Anne actually cursed to herself. She knew she couldn't decline and risk offending her host's relative, so she smiled and held out her elbow, the older woman had a grip like a vise and held on to Anne as if she thought Anne, might run off with her jewels. "Beautiful day." Anne commented. "My favourite days are always the ones where the sky is filled with those big puffy clouds, that just float by."

"Indeed, I was quite happy when I was told this would be outside, at least we aren't all cooped up in an overheated house."

"Yes, this is probably better, it's already quite warm in this suit jacket, in a crowded house, it would be unbearable."

"Diana told me that you know of her adventures in Europe." Josephine changed the subject, making Anne's head reel.

"She did. I haven't told anyone, I won't." Anne stuttered.

"Oh I am not concerned with that. It's about time she stood up to those two, always trying to force her to be something unattainable. Perfect. I am a firm believer in letting people live how they want to. I just wanted to meet the person she so easily revealed it to, Diana is usually much more guarded." Anne wasn't sure what Josephine was trying to say, what was her point?

"She said I reminded her of Cole, perhaps she just missed him and wanted a friend."

"Perhaps. You do intrigue me Mr. Walters." Anne hoped it was her imagination when she stressed the word mister.

"I do?" She squeaked out, not sounding very confident or manly.

"Indeed, I am very curious to know how a woman, has been able to fool all of Avonlea into believing she is a man."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The picnic continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How awesome are Aunt Jo and Diana? Of course Jo would be the one to know, she's been around all sorts of people and she can suss them out easily. I can't wait for you guys to react to this one. It made me laugh when I thought of it.
> 
> I can not say this too many times, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I truly appreciate all your comments, reactions, questions and suggestions. And to the people who don't comment, I appreciate you too. Lots of love, stay safe.

Anne found herself frozen in place, unable to move, talk or even breathe. She felt the panic flooding her veins, the urge to flee was strong, but something told her she had to stand her ground. "That isn't funny." She finally spit out, her voice thick. Josephine Barry tilted her head to the side and studied Anne closely. 

"It's always the Adam's Apple."

"I'm sorry?" Anne asked, not sure what she meant.   
"I have met many people like yourself, some of them poor souls that feel trapped in their own skin, born to the wrong sex, they try to be what they feel like they should have been born as. To an experienced eye, the Adam's Apple always gives it away." Josephine began walking again and Anne had no choice but to continue to walk as well. Her mind was racing, trying to think of some way out of it, perhaps use the very excuse that Josephine had provided herself. She could say she just felt like a boy.

"Ever since I was little I didn't feel right."

"No." Josephine cut her off. "That isn't your story."

"I...how can you tell?" Anne finally asked.

"The way you carry yourself, you are pretending, and it is very convincing, but you don't want to be a man, you haven't got the commitment of someone who is finally living their truth has. So tell me...why are you pretending?"

"It's safer. It's dangerous to be a woman, truly alone with no family or money." Anne told her and it wasn't a lie, it just wasn't all of the truth. Josephine tilted her head and studied Anne out of the corner of her eye, it was probably only for a moment but to Anne it felt like Anubis was weighing her heart to judge if she was worthy of an afterlife.

"I'll let you keep your secrets." Josephine finally said as they continued walking and Anne was certain the plurality of secrets was not an error, she knew Anne was holding back more information.

"I would really appreciate that, Miss Barry."

"How long do you plan to continue in this ruse?"

"I'm not sure, I know I won't be able to forever...I don't want to. I guess a few years to have a bit of money before I leave."

"Leave Avonlea? You have a partnership in a farm, what about your partners?" Josephine asked, they had finally rounded the far side of the pond and were making their way back toward the picnic. Anne shook her head.

"I won't be able to stay when the truth comes out."

"Would they be that angry? So unforgiving?"

"Not at all, they would be angry and hurt but they would forgive me in time, they are best people I ever met. It just won't be possible to stay after that." Josephine seemed to understand after that.

"You aren't a danger." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I swear, I wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Good. Now that, that is settled. I have a proposition for you." Anne felt like she was trying to walk a straight line during a hurricane, Josephine Barry was keeping Anne on her toes, every time she thought she had avoided a trap, Josephine sprang another one. "I want you to court Diana."

Anne stopped walking again and looked at Josephine. "What?!"

"Just for a while, the new year at the latest, long enough for her parents to stop focusing on finding her a husband, Diana can live with me in the city, attend college and you can go about your daily life. You'll have to visit her a few times, you'll need to be seen here at functions together, a stroll through town occasionally, and of course sit with her at church on Sundays."

"Impossible...her parents are not going to allow her to court me. I may partly own a farm but we haven't even had one successful crop yet. They expect her to marry a Lord or a Rockefeller."

"Don't worry about that, I will take care of all that. You just always be perfectly groomed, and mannerly and don't offend them."

"What about when it comes out, the truth...it will be a scandal. Her reputation will be ruined."

"Oh I've already thought of that, she knew the entire time and was helping a poor desperate urchin, have a safe place to live, she courted you to give you validity as a man, and she never intended to actually marry you."

"I suppose I can't say no." Anne staated flatly, Josephine would reveal her otherwise.

"Of course you can. But you would have a friend in Diana, someone that could help you keep your secret, and someone to keep girls like Jane Andrews away, I've already heard the gossip, a new eligible man in Avonlea is like water to a thirsty man." Is that what Jane was doing? Trying to get Angus's romantic attention?

"It appears you have you pieces already set, I am your pawn, ready to do your bidding."

"My dear girl, you are not a pawn, you will be my knight." Josephine replied, patting Anne's hand.

Gilbert noticed that Angus spent the remainder of the picnic with Diana Barry, strolling around, talking and laughing. He couldn't help the flare of jealousy he felt whenever Angus laughed with her. He could hardly blame Angus, she was beautiful, well read, well educated and genuine, she had always been a sweet person. 

"How does a scrawny runt like that manage to get the attention of Diana?" Billy Andrews complained. "For years all of us have tried to get her, and you bring some undersized orphan back here and he's going to get her."

"She is a person, not some object for you to get. And don't talk about my family that way." Gilbert warned.

"Your family? C'mon Bud, I have known you for years. You barely know that piece of shit."

"Don't call me Bud. I worked side by side with him, traveled the world with him and would trust him with my life. What kind of friend are you? You didn't even come to my father's funeral." Gilbert stepped closer to Billy, anger flaring through his body, the jealousy he was feeling was smoldering and Billy's words were the spark that would light the fire.

"Take it easy Bud.."

"Call me that one more time." Gilbert stepped closer, his eyes black with anger, he could see Billy shrinking away from him, but Billy had an audience, the Pauls and Moody were there, he couldn't fold that easily.

"What are you going to do about it...Bu.." He didn't finish the word because Gilbert punched him in the mouth. Billy dropped to the ground, holding his mouth that had blood coming from a split lip, he didn't get up, he looked at Gilbert with fear and anger and spit blood into the grass.

"Stay away from me and my family." Gilbert warned before turning and walking away. No one was looking at them, or noticed the punch, at least he hadn't created a huge scene at the Barry's picnic. He was ready to leave this place, get back to their farm and just relax. 

He found Angus sitting with Diana, Cole and Josephine Barry. "Gilbert, you must meet my Aunt Jo." Diana urged him forward.   
"I have heard about Gilbert Blythe for years. Now I see what all the giggling, I have had to endure through when visiting was about. that Gillis girl was right, you do have sad eyes." Josephine had the reputation of speaking her mind and Gilbert found that it was warranted. Sad eyes? Ruby thought he had sad eyes? And the girls giggled about him? He felt the familiar flush of blood in his face, he was embarrassed that Angus was there to hear all this. "You have the look of your father, I met him several times, many years ago, good man, fantastic dreamer. Did he have the grand adventures he dreamed of?"

"Some of them." Gilbert replied.

"Good. Cole I'm ready to have some peace and quiet, would you accompany me to the house." Cole sprang to his feet.

"Of course Aunt Jo. Good to see you again, Gilbert. Angus, I look forward to those letters." Cole said as he helped Miss Barry to her feet.

"I'm ready to head home. You staying?" He asked Angus, who looked at Diana, she nodded slightly and Angus stood.

"Thanks for the wonderful day, Miss Barry." Angus said to Diana. She raised her eyebrow and held her hand out to him, Angus stared at it for a moment before he muttered "Oh yeah" to himself and took Diana's hand and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. Gilbert's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head, what was Angus doing kissing her hand, in front of the entire town?

"Angus I have told you many times, please call me Diana."

"Of course, until next time, Diana, it's been...enchanting." Diana giggled and demurley lowered her eyes. 

"It's all I will be thinking about." She told Angus and Gilbert thought he must have gotten too much sun. What the hell was going on. "Thank you for coming Gilbert." She added as an afterthought. 

"Where's Bash?" Gilbert asked as they walked toward home. 

"He went home, he got tired of being stared at."

"What was all that between you and Diana Barry?" Gilbert finally spit out the question he really wanted to ask.

"She's a lovely, vivacious, intelligent woman. I think that would be answer enough."

"I have never seen you look at a girl, or talk about one." Gilbert had been sure that Angus was attracted to him, the way he stared at Gilbert, longingly. Was that the reason Gilbert was feeling angry? Was his ego so badly in need of boosting that he was jealous and hurt that he wasn't the sole object of Angus's affection?

"I just hadn't met one that interested me." Angus replied. Gilbert wanted to press him, but what could he say? "Hey, what happened to you hand?" 

Gilbert looked down, and saw the hand he had punched Billy with was red, swollen and had a scratch and dried blood on it. He had hit him harder than he thought, suddenly he could feel the blood pounding painfully is his hand. "Fuck." He muttered, holding it up in the air, to help the blood flow down is arm, hoping to relieve some swelling.

"What did you do? Were you fighting?" Angus grabbed his hand and held it, studying it, pressing gently at the knuckles to feel for broken bones. And all the pain disappeared, and he could feel the feather light touch of Angus's fingers. Gilbert hissed in a breath, not one of pain, but one of surprise. Those soft, fingers, running along his knuckles felt...good. Shivers ran up and down his spine, he felt goosebumps break out over his body and a tight, pulling sensation low in his belly. He didn't want it to stop, but at his hiss Angus let his hand go. "Sorry. What happened?"

"Doesn't matter."

"It does matter. You could have a broken bone. Who in the world would want to fight you?"

"He didn't want a fight but he didn't listen when I told him to back off." Gilbert answered, beginning to walk again, leaving Angus to run to catch up.

"Who?"

"Billy Andrews."

"Jane's brother?"

"Yeah, he's always been a shit."

"You punched him for being a shit?"

"He kept saying...it doesn't matter, he didn't stop so I made him." He didn't want to tell Angus what Billy was saying about him. Angus was a sensitive person who would probably be really hurt by it.

"Well I know you are not a violent person, it must have been pretty bad. Just don't let him get to you."

"I'll try." They were quiet for a while, each of them contemplating the events of the day. "So...you and Diana Barry?"

"Don't start." Angus laughed.

Later that night as he fell asleep, Gilbert thought of Angus's soft touch, and the tingling sensation he had gotten in his belly, he let himself imagine how it would feel, to have Angus's fingers touching other parts, his lips, across his collarbone and down his chest, barely brushing against the hair that trailed down below his waist, the fingers followed it down, stroking his dick, taking it into his hand and gripping it tighter, stroking it. Gilbert moved his hand under the sheet and took his own dick in his hand, spreading the liquid already leaking, all over and moving his hand up and down. In his mind he could feel Angus's breath across his chest and stomach, he could see the top of Angus's head and imagined leaning down and burying his face in it, inhaling Angus's scent. When he imagined Angus moaning, as he stroked Gilbert's dick, Gilbert lost control and squeezed his own cock tighter, biting his lip to keep from crying out as he came. "This is not good." he panted to the empty room.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summaries are the worst! The story continues....
> 
> ****Trigger Warning - this chapter has some non consensual situations. PLease do not read if you may be negatively impacted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got this one finished today, probably not another one for a couple of days since I am working and it's my Birthday tomorrow. Thank you so much for your comments and kudos, I can't believe how much support you all give me. 
> 
> I am not a farmer, or any sort of handywoman, please don't mock me mercilessly for my "fence repair" scene.

They settled into an easy routine, mornings were spent tending the crops, watering, weeding, checking for pests or disease, afternoons they made repairs or upgrades to the farm, evenings were spent chatting, reading or occasionally playing a game. Marilla still dropped off a couple of loaves of bread for them a few times a week but beyond that and the occasional invitation to dinner by the Cuthberts or Lyndes, they were completely self sufficient. Neither Gilbert nor Bash were very good cooks, managing to fry some bacon and eggs, Anne did the majority of the cooking, and was a really good cook but didn't reveal it fully, she told them that she had been made to learn in the same arthritic woman's home, that taught her to sew, Bash and Gilbert didn't ask too many questions, they had an unspoken understanding to not mention Angus's time in the foster homes, as it always agitated him and they didn't want to hurt him or bring up painful memories. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Angus would go to the Barry home for dinner, and on Sundays he would sit with Diana and her family during church service, he would then walk Diana through town and have lunch with the Barrys.

Anne wasn't sure how Aunt Jo got them to agree but the Barrys were polite and welcoming to Angus, they genuinely seemed to like him. Gilbert hadn't taken it quite as well.

"You...are courting Diana Barry?" Had been his first incredulous question when Anne had first returned home from the terrifying task of asking permission to court Diana. 

"Why are you saying it like that?" Anne asked, she had had a wonderful time with Diana, they had strolled the Barry property arm in arm, laughing about Diana's adventures in England and some of the trickier parts of Anne trying to keep up her disguise. Anne had never smiled or laughed so much, with carefree abandon, even with Gilbert and Bash she always had to be aware she was Angus, now that Diana knew the truth and was her ally, Anne had a few moments to relax and just be herself.

"It's just that Diana Barry is...it's Diana Barry." Gilbert finally said as if that were explanation enough.

"So what? She likes me, I like her."

"She is very wealthy and you...aren't." Gilbert weakly argued.   
"Just what are you trying to say? That she is too good for me, because I'm a orphan with nothing to offer her?" She could feel the tears begin to sting her eyes and she hated herself for showing her weakness.

"I don't think Gilbert is saying that." Bash tried to diffuse the situation.

"Of course I'm not. I'm an orphan too, all I have is you two. And anybody would be lucky to have someone like you." Gilbert told her and she felt her anger begin to dissipate. "You have a lot to offer her, to anyone. I just didn't think she was...your type." Anne wrinkled her brows at that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked him.

"I don't know, you're just down to earth...."

"If you have known her for this long, than you should know how humble she is. She is kind and sweet and she doesn't judge me for my origins."

"You're right, Diana has a very sweet disposition. I'm sorry I questioned it, I wish you two every happiness."

Anne felt slightly guilty, she knew that by the new year Diana would be living in Charlottetown and probably entertaining a handful of beaux, and their courtship would be over. Part of her wanted to tell Gilbert and Bash that the courtship was fake but she was worried it would lead to too many questions. She hated lying to them, they treated as an equal...like a brother, and she was telling them even more lies. She hoped that when the day came for her to leave, she could at least tell them the truth, she prayed they would understand her deceit.

A few weeks after the picnic, they were fixing the fence line, several posts had rotted and collapsed, they needed to sink the posts, and rewrapped the wire around them. It was hard work, in a hot summer sun. July had arrived with endless sunny days, and few clouds to provide relief. Anne was digging the hole, while Gilbert and Bash held the pole, they had already dug and tried to put the post in, but it needed to go down another foot, so they held the pole up and out of the way, while Anne shoveled the necessary amount out. When it was deep enough they put the pole in, held it in place while she filled the space with dirt and packed it down with earth to hold it in place. "It's so hot." Gilbert complained.

"You don't know heat, this is winter weather for me." Bash teased.

"Yeah well, you just wait until November and tell me about winter weather." Gilbert replied back with a smirk.

"Let's just get this done, I have to get cleaned up to go to Diana's." Anne interrupted. She took off her hat to wipe the sweat on her forehead off and when she put it back on she saw that Gilbert was pulling his shirt off over his head, wearing only his undershirt, wet with sweat, sticking to every bump and dip created by the muscles on his chest and stomach. Bash followed suit and they both turned to Anne, waiting for her to join them.

"I don't want to get a sunburn." She told them. Bash was just as muscled as Gilbert, even more so, but she didn't find herself sneaking glances at Bash's shoulders. She tried to concentrate on digging the hole, but it was nearly impossible with Gilbert's bare arm, at her eye level, the muscles bulging as he held the pole in position. She noticed a drop of sweat, rolling down the side of his face, down under his jaw, to his collarbone, she wondered what it would be like to bury her face in his neck, feel those arms around her and have him touch her. She was so startled by her own desire she nearly brought the shovel down on Gilbert's foot, he jumped back to avoid it and let go of the post, Bash who was barely holding on, dropped it too, Anne missed getting hit on the head by mere inches.

"Christ, you could have taken my foot off." Gilbert exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. I got distracted." She apologized.

"By what?" Gilbert asked and she couldn't tell him that his strong arms and sweat had been the culprit, so she just shrugged and continued blushing.

"I think that's a sign to call it quits for the day." Bash said, "Let's go to the creek and cool off. Should be shady enough to keep you from getting burnt." He said to Anne.

"Great idea! Then you can get cleaned off before the Barrys." Gilbert agreed, picking up the tools and putting them in the tool box. 

"I was just going to clean up in my room." 

"Come on, it's the perfect day for a cool dip in the creek." Bash argued and Gilbert nodded.

"I can't, I can't swim." Another lie.

"It's three feet deep, you don't need to swim, just stand." Gilbert's eyebrows had joined together, she realized in that moment that she thought the way he expressed himself with his eyebrows was adorable.

"Leeches!" She said a little too loudly. "I'm also afraid of leeches." 

"There are no leeches in the creek."

"You never know. You guys go on and swim and I will take the tools back and get ready for Diana's. Have fun." She grabbed the tool box, and the shovel and left before they could give her another reason to go with them. 

After dinner her and Diana, sat out in the garden behind the Barry home, Anne was listening to Diana with one ear, while her brain was racing, trying to make sense of her reaction to Gilbert earlier. It wasn't just about him being handsome, and attractive. She'd felt desire, arousal, she didn't think she was capable of that anymore. "I'm not boring you am I Angus?" Diana interrupted her thoughts, they both agreed to keep using Angus so that Diana could never slip up, in fact, she hadn't even told Diana her real name. 

"I'm sorry. Something happened today and I can't stop thinking about it."

"Do you want to talk about it. I hope you know your secrets are safe with me."

"I do know that, and I can't thank you enough for that. I never expected to find such a true and kindred spirit here...not from a woman anyway. It's just I don't know, confusing."

"What is?" Diana pushed her gently to continue.

"I never thought that I could be interested in a man. I have always wanted to be loved, and maybe have children one day, but I was sort of resigned to it never happening, or if it did, it would be purely convenience."

"Why would you think that?"

"I haven't been attracted to many men, and they haven't been interested in me. When I was younger I had hoped that maybe I could find someone that we could have a companionship with, if not a love affair, maybe an older man, perhaps a widower. I don't think that will be possible anymore, I am destined to be alone I think." 

"But you do like men? I know that some women, like other women, like they would a husband."  
"Sort of. That's the confusing part. Men, they can hurt you, take what they want, there is no stopping them. That's another reason I live this way, it's safer this way. They scare me...well most of them do."

"And now you're confused because..." Diana seemed just as confused as Anne. Anne blushed as she thought about her feelings and the memory of Gilbert's shoulders.

"Gilbert was working without his shirt on today." She finally stated.

"Ohhhhh...now I understand. He is very handsome."

"He is! Oh Diana, his shoulders and arms are very well muscled. I couldn't stop staring."

"I say keep staring. You have an unobstructed view of a very attractive man. I personally would look all day."

"Diana!" Anne gasped but then giggled, and Diana joined her. "Nothing could ever come of it anyway."

"Why not?"

"He thinks I am a man. The day he finds out, will be my last day in Avonlea. And even if I went home today in a dress, I'm still me, plain and red headed."

"I don't think that's true at all, you have lovely skin, no scars or pimples, and the clearest blue eyes, they are very expressive. Full lips, and adorable dimples, a cute nose that just slightly upturns, I think you are beautiful." Diana told her and Anne felt tears in her eyes, Diana delivered those words with such conviction that Anne felt like Diana meant them. Maybe she wasn't as ugly as she had thought. "Now tell me what it is like living with two men."

"A lot of burping and farting." Anne revealed and Diana burst into giggles again.

Gilbert heard crying, he supposed that was the noise that woke him up in the dead of night. Angus was crying, probably having another bad dream. Gilbert got out of bed, in just his underwear and headed for Angus room, when he opened the door, Angus was curled in a ball facing the door, his eyes closed, breathing hard. "Please no, stop." He cried out. 

"Angus, it's okay, it's just a dream." Gilbert whispered softly, trying not to startle him. 

"Get off." Angus cried out, the desperation in his voice clear. Gilbert reached out and gently shook Angus's shoulder, hoping that would wake him up. He didn't want to hear Angus's desperate pleas, it scared him. 

"Roy...please...don't." The final word was delivered with a guttural cry of pain, that had Gilbert sitting on the bed and scooping Angus into his arms, rubbing his back. 

"Angus, wake up, it's Gilbert. You're safe. You're safe." Angus's nails dug into the flesh on Gilbert's arm and chest, not in defense, but to dig in, to hold on to something, pulling him nearer. 

"Please stop..." He repeated again and again.

"It's ok Angus, I won't let anything happen to you." After several minutes of Gilbert whispering softly and gently rubbing Angus's back, he stopped crying and twitching, his breath heavy and deep. Gilbert held him for a while longer, finally letting his brain register how soft Angus's skin was, he was wearing his undershirt, but his arms were as soft as silk, his head was tucked under Gilbert's chin, and Gilbert took the opportunity to dip his nose into Angus's fiery locks, breathing deeply. Angus was sitting in Gilbert's lap and the heat from his bottom against Gilbert's dick was too much, Gilbert could feel himself getting hard and he couldn't let Angus feel that. He disentangled himself, pulled the sheet over Angus, and crept out of the room. 

He went back to his own room and bed, the stirring in his cock forgotten and he relived those moments of Angus's nightmare. Some one had hurt Angus badly, he was sure of it. Someone named Roy, had forced himself sexually on Angus. The poor kid had been raped...and here was Gilbert lusting after him. No wonder he was courting Diana, she was one of the most gentle people he had ever met. Angus would be safe with her. He couldn't help the hurt he felt in his stomach, pain caused by the realization that he wouldn't be the one to help Angus.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert and Anne deal with the after effects of Anne's nightmare.
> 
> ****** WARNING- Rape/Non Consensual Sex scene occurs in this chapter. Please do not read if you may experience trauma from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am physically exhausted. I am working more and longer hours than I did before Covid, but this universe is a wonderful distraction. Thank you for your comments, kudos and support. 
> 
> This one was fun and hard to do. I have never really written a non-con scene before, and it's not super detailed but it was still upsetting to me. But the shirbert stuff is fun. 
> 
> Let me also say, sorry to any Roy fans.

Gilbert was at the sink, washing up after a long hot day of working, the sun was shining in through the window, the dust dancing in the sunbeams, he had his shirt off, he was bent over, his head in the sink, dousing his hair with cool water. When he stood straight, the water ran down his shoulders and chest, the waistband of his pants were hanging dangerously low, Anne couldn't decide if she wanted to stare at his chest, or watch the water slide down his abdomen and disappear into his pants. He grabbed a towel and dried his hair, looking at Anne. 

"Want me to wash yours?" He pointed to the sink, and she couldn't think of a single reason for why she should say no. She nodded and stood up, took off her cap and walked to the sink. "It would be easier without your shirt on." Gilbert said, and even though she knew she shouldn't she began to undo the buttons on her shirt, and then took it off, laying it on the table, she quickly turned around and bent over, hoping he wouldn't see the bindings on her chest. She startled when the he touched her hair, running his fingers through it, and then again when the cool water came out of the pump and hit her head. He made sure her hair was completely wet before he added the soap and began to lather her hair, instead of standing to the side of her, he stood right behind her and leaned over her to do his hair washing. She bit her lip to hold in the moan that threatened to explode from her, the combination of his strong fingers working her hair, applying a bit of pressure to her scalp and massaging it, the heat from his chest as it brushed against her back, and the hard bump that was pressing into her ass, was making her feel dizzy, excited and tingly. It was surely unintentional, but it seemed as if there were a rhythm to the movements of his hips, and a few times, Anne found she had matched his movements unknowingly. He pumped the water again and rinsed the soap from her hair, she could see the long red tresses laying in the bottom of the sink, and she wrinkled her brow, that wasn't right... But before she could solve the puzzle of her long hair, he put a hand against her upper chest and pulled her up so her back was pressed against his chest, his breath in her ear, hot and desperate. He moved the hair off her face and to the side, so he could kiss her ear.   
"I can't tell you how much I have wanted this." And she felt shivers that ran down her neck and back, right to her core, it felt deliciously good to have his lips almost against her skin when he whispered. "Is this alright?" He asked as he cupped her breast, she nodded, almost completely forgetting she was supposed to be a male. 

"I want to know what it feels like to be inside of you." He said, his lips again just making contact with her skin. She knew she shouldn't say it but she did. 

"I want that too." 

As soon as the words left her lips, he spun her around to face him, his eyes dark with emotion, hunger on his face. He lowered his lips to hers and claimed her mouth, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth before, dipping his tongue into hers, swallowing her groans of pleasure. One of his hands came up to her neck, resting against the curve of her shoulder and neck, his thumb tracing circles on her jaw. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers, when had she ever experienced any pleasure like this? Suddenly his hand tightened on her throat, not dangerously but it alarmed her and she opened her eyes to tell him she didn't like it and bit back a cry of terror. It was Roy.

"Miss me, whore?" He grinned, his blond hair glimmering in the sun. She shook her head, this couldn't be, he was dead. "You're mine, nothing will change that." He growled as he ripped her undershirt open, grabbing at the bindings. 

"Please no, stop." She cried out, trying to cover herself, and stop his hand at the same time, he squeezed her neck a bit harder and pulled her to the table and laid her back against it, his hand never moving or loosening its hold on her neck. 

"You want it, want to feel me inside you." Not him...never him again.

"Get off." She tried, she tried so hard to fight him, she couldn't kick him, he had her legs pinned open, his body between them, her hands were free, and she tried to hit him, slap him, scratch him, he just squeezed harder, until she saw grey spots in her vision. She didn't register the wrongness of him shoving her dress up and over her hips, exposing her privates to him, his free hand opened his pants and taking his dick out, she shook her head, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. "Roy...please...don't. He actually laughed at her as he squeezed her neck tighter and shoved himself inside of her, ripping and tearing her, causing her to cry out in agony, weak now, the fight gone from her as she laid there while he thrust inside on her. "Please stop."

She closed her eyes and prayed to God to help her, begged the spirts of her parents to help her. Why wouldn't someone, save her? And then the pain was gone, Roy was gone, she was being held by an angel, tall and strong, their touch was healing, she didn't know what they were saying, but the words were soothing. 

When Anne woke the next morning she instantly recalled the nightmare. Her body shuddered from the memory of it, the revulsion of even his dream presence, had her gagging and heaving, she covered her mouth and fought through the nausea, that had been a particularly horrible one. The first part had been wonderful, having her hair washed by Gilbert, being kissed by him, wanted by him, that could only happen in her dreams, even her mind knew that, and turned that dream to Roy, to remind herself not to get too happy and comfortable here in Avonlea, she was a wanted for murder and wasn't ever going to be truly safe. The ghost of Roy would never let her forget that.

"Bash is going to help Matthew today, it will be good experience for him." Gilbert told Angus, when he asked about Bash.

"What are our plans for today?" Angus asked from the entrance way to the kitchen, he seemed to be nervous, looking at the table with a grimace on his face, and blushing everytime he looked at Gilbert. Maybe he remembered that Gilbert had crawled into his bed and held him in his sleep, Gilbert blushed at that. 

"Not much to do today, rained last night so no need to water anything, I was thinking about checking on the orchard, after breakfast."

"Sounds, good, but I'm not hungry this morning, I'll go out and milk Lady." Angus had named the cow Lady MacBeth, the pig was Poppy, the horse was LIberty, and there were chickens named Austen, Bronte, Alcott, Shelly, and a rooster named Mr. Darcy. 

"Alright, I'm almost done here, then we can head to the orchard." He stood up and went to wash up the breakfast dishes.

"Sounds good."

"Lady, I'm going to need you to pray for my eternal soul. I just had the most wicked thoughts about Gilbert while he was at the sink. I can't share them with you, they would make your milk curdle at the depravity of them." She chattered to the cow, as had become her habit, Lady chewed her food and seemed to pay Anne no mind. Liberty was in her stall and had her head hanging over as if she were there to be a shoulder to cry on for Anne. "You too Liberty, my face felt so hot, I thought my head was going to burst into flames, right there in front of him. How am I supposed to act normal, when I am feeling these things?" She asked the animals. She was just finishing up and closing the stall door when Gilbert arrived. 

"Finished?" 

"Yep, I'll put this in the house and be right back." She told him, regarding the pail of milk.

They talked about the rain, the crops and even Gilbert's bee hives. His dad's old hives were there when they returned and hadn't need much work. Gilbert was trying to fill the empty space with any topic but the one he knew he had to bring up. Finally he screwed up his courage and blurted out. "So last night's nightmare was a really bad one huh?" Angus stopped walking, blushed and looked at his feet, shrugging. 

"Nothing I can't handle."

"I..don't, shit this is hard. I think I know what happened to you. Why you have the nightmares." He stumbled out. Angus's face blanched, his eyes growing huge and Gilbert could clearly see he was terrified that Gilbert might now. "It's okay. You're safe."

"No..." Angus said, shaking his head. 

"You don't have to tell me details, and I promise I won't tell anyone, even Bash, but maybe talking about it will help."

"I...I...Roy..." Angus was physically shaking and Gilbert felt guilty for making him so afraid, but he was furious at this Roy person, for hurting Angus so much.

"It's okay. You don't have to say it." He tried a different tactic. "I think Roy hurt you...sexually. If he didn't, shake your head now and I will leave it alone forever. If he did, you don't have to say anything. Just know that I will always be here, willing to help you, listen to you...anything you need." Angus collapsed onto his knees, holding his hands over his face. Gilbert knelt down next to him, patting his back, trying to comfort him. 

"I was stupid. I...they made me leave the asylum. I had no family or friends, no money. I managed to get a job at a hotel, Roy was there a lot. He seemed so friendly...at first. He would bring me little gifts, candies, small things, but I had never had someone give me anything for nothing. I thought he was a saviour, he would save me from the horror of my reality. The first time was...so much blood. The next time was worse, and the time after. I kept hoping he would get bored and leave me alone, but he wouldn't. I think it excited him, my fear and pain, he would do things more painful each time. Finally I ran away, got lucky and got that job on the Primrose."

"Christ." Was all Gilbert could say, he was speechless, he knew about rape and assault, whispered about but never spoken out loud, this Roy had done the unspeakable to Angus, a scared, vulnerable, desperate and lonely kid, Gilbert would love to meet Roy and beat the shit out of him.

"The only good thing that has ever happened to me, was meeting you and Bash. You have given me everything...for nothing." Angus sadly chuckled, remembering how he had thought Roy was giving him everything.

"You and Bash are one of the best things that ever happened to me too." Gilbert said, giving Angus's shoulder a squeeze. 

He stood up and held out his hand to help Angus up, hoisting him up to a standing position, right in front of himself. They were almost touching, chest to chest, a thickness filled the space between them, charged with electricity, Angus's eyes were flicking back and forth between Gilbert's eyes and lips, and when his tongue peeked out and licked his lips, it was like a dam collapsing, Gilbert lost all sense of right and wrong, grabbed Angus and kissed him. Angus sighed against Gilbert's lips and he was lost, in Angus's mouth. Some part of him registered that Angus, had one hand, tangled in Gilbert's hair at his nape, and another was holding a fistful of Gilbert's brown vest, but the hungry part of him was acting on instinct, it was rougher than Gilbert would have been, had he planned it, tongues and lips twisting and dancing, it felt like an eternity that he had been needing this, it had been consuming him and now he was finally doing it, losing himself in Angus.

Gilbert's lips left her mouth and traveled to her neck, kissing the flesh beneath her ear and making her knees weak. It was better than her dream, she had thought that was perfection, until it turned to her nightmare, but kissing him truly sent tingles of pleasure coursing through her body, kissing Gilbert Blythe was the best feeling in the world. She wanted to let herself go, to lay under the apple blossoms and let him take her, she was going to let it happen until he whispered "Angus" against her neck and she stiffened. What was she doing? She was a woman and Gilbert was clearly attracted to a man, she started to pull away, when he looked at her, saw her face, his face paled.   
"Oh shit. Angus...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"I...Diana." She told him, turning away from and literally running toward Diana's house. What was she doing?  
"I'm sorry Angus." She heard him call out to her. 

'You really did it this time Blythe.' He told himself. He was so stupid, how could he have done that? The poor kid was broken, abused, scared, traumatised and what did Gilbert do? Kiss him in the orchard? Angus was courting Diana Barry, and Gilbert kissed him. "You're a real moke." He said to himself, still standing under the apple blossoms.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are only getting more twisted for Gilbert and Anne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this to have more funny moments and everytime I try, it doesn't go that way. I'm going to try and make the next chapter have some lighter moments.
> 
> Thanks for the comments, kudos and support.

Anne ran to Diana's house, jumping over sticks and rocks, completely ignoring the path and just running directly through the woods. She arrived, sweaty, panting and frantically knocking on the door. "May I speak to Diana please?" She asked the maid who answered, the maid didn't say anything but she looked horrified by Anne's appearance and demeanor. Diana came to the foyer a few minutes later. 

"Angus, is everything alright?"

"No! Can we talk somewhere private? Please."

"Let's go to the garden."

Diana must have been able to tell that whatever was upsetting Anne this strongly had to be kept a secret, so she made no more questions until they were sitting on a bench under a flowered covered trellis. Normally Anne would have delighted in the flowers and the romantic setting, causing her to day dream of a tragical romantical story, she barely noticed it this time.

"What is it?" Diana finally asked, her voice low so it wouldn't carry.

"Gilbert kissed me." Anne told her, Diana's face went through a litany of expressions, easily read by Anne, confusion, shock, denial, confusion again, disbelief.

"You're joking.." She finally managed.

"I wish I were." Anne replied miserably.

"Tell me everything, what were you doing, what led up to it. Did he say anything?" She rapidly asked. Anne wasn't sure how much she wanted to reveal, Diana had proven to be a true friend, trustworthy, but Anne was worried how she would react if she knew what Roy had done to Anne. She was ashamed, and afraid it would lead to more questions.

"We were talking about my life before I met him, before the ship."

"You told him you're a woman?" Diana interrupted.

"No. I was able to talk about some events but didn't reveal my true gender. I was very emotional, and so was he, he was very concerned, comforting and supportive, a true and loyal friend. Now I have surely messed that all up...I don't know what will happen now? Do I have to leave Avonlea already?"

"Angus, I know this is extremely upsetting for you but please try and focus. The kiss...how did it happen?"

"Sorry, when I am faced with life changing problems, my mind races and I have trouble thinking clearly. I was on the ground and he helped me up, suddenly we were very close, I could smell him and feel the heat from his body, he was staring into my eyes, oh Diana, he has the most soulful eyes, did you ever notice they aren't just brown? He has a ring of dark grey in them, and little flecks of gold and green, and then suddenly he was kissing me."

"So you wanted him to kiss you?"

"I hadn't really considered it. In the moment I never wanted it to end, it was life changing, soul shattering."

Diana blinked and smiled. "It sounds perfect. Was it your first kiss?" Anne grimaced at that question, how could she tell Diana about Roy pressing her into the corner of a closet, worming his tongue between her lips, squeezing her arms so tightly she had bruises for a week afterward?

"It was the first one I reciprocated. The first one that made happy butterflies dance in my stomach, made my toes curl and made my mind go quiet. Diana, he thinks I'm a man." She started to cry again, Diana took her hand and held it, rubbing it soothingly. 

"I wish I could hug you and comfort you..." Anne nodded in understanding, that would be unacceptable, a man and a woman not married, but courting should not be embracing without a chaperone present to make sure it was proper. "What happened after? After the kiss?"

"I ran away."

"He didn't say anything?" Diana enquired further.

"He said sorry, that he shouldn't have. How do I go back there? How do I act? What if Bash finds out? What if they both find out I am a woman?"

"I know you don't want to tell them, but would it really be so bad?"

"I don't know...it feels like every decision I make is the wrong one. Gilbert kissed me, thinking I was a male, What if he wants to do it again? What if people find out he likes men? That will ruin him, he'll be run out of town, Bash would probably have to leave too."

"No one is going to find out. You'll all be safe. Do you really think Gilbert likes other men?"

"How else can you explain it?"

"I can't, but it just doesn't seem right. I think I might know someone to ask about these matters."

"You do? Who?"

"It's not my secret to share, but theirs. I will write to them, discreetly of course, and ask for their advice. I think you're just going to have to pretend it didn't happen, go about life as normal."

"I like the sound of pretending it didn't happen, I excel at pretending. What if he says something?"

"If he brings it up, tell him you were emotional at that moment and it won't happen again because you are not only infatuated with me, but completely loyal and you would never want to betray my love and trust."

"Oh Diana, I would never want to betray your love and trust. You have become my very best bosom friend. A kindred spirit, I dreamed of having a true friend that I could trust all my secrets and thoughts with. I never imagined that I would actually find her."

"Angus, when all this is done, I hope we can continue to be Bosom friends, I have had many friends but none that I could ever really be myself around, with the exception of Cole, we will be the very best of friends for the rest of our lives, I just know it."

Anne wished that could be true, but she knew she would have to run away again one day and leave behind Diana, Bash and Gilbert. 

Gilbert finished the chores, and was making a stew for supper when Angus, arrived home, He hung up his cap, walked to the sink and started washing his hands. "Need help?" He asked Gilbert, pointing at the vegetables that needed to be peeled and chopped.

"Sure...thanks." Angus began peeling the parsnips. "How are...was Diana's?"

"Wonderful, had a very enjoyable visit. She sends her greetings." Gilbert had fretted the entire time that Angus would tell Diana, who would tell her parents and they would tell the entire town, he would ne a pariah, not just in Avonlea but the entire Island and parts of Nova Scotia would even know. Know that he was the kind of man that kissed and lusted after other men. He frowned at that...not men, man. One man.  
"Tell her thank you next time you see her please."

"I will."

"Listen about earlier..."

"Let's just forget it." Angus said. He didn't know why but that annoyed him. He had spent the afternoon, wishing it hadn't happened, but Angus casual statement, dismissing it, hurt. 

"I can't. " Gilbert blurted out, "I can not stop thinking about it, how it felt."

"Gilbert, stop please. I don't know what to say. I am with Diana, and I am not interested in you in that way. And it's wrong, a sin. I won't tell anyone you like men, we are brothers and I would never betray your trust, and I won't judge you harshly for your predilection..." Gilbert couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"My predilection? What are you talking about? I don't like men."

"I'm sure it must be confusing, dealing with these feelings and urges." Angus said calmly. Was he crazy? Was Angus saying that Gilbert was the one attracted to men? He wasn't. Angus was the homsexual, not Gilbert. 

"Only one of us has been with a man. Do not presume to know what I am attracted to." Gilbert responded harshly, crueler than he intended to be, but lashing out. Hurt by Angus's casual attitude toward a kiss that Gilbert felt was momentous and beautiful. Angus flinched at his words.

"I expected better of you." Angus said, putting the knife and parsnip down and leaving the kitchen, the sound of feet on the stairs and the slam of the door, indicated he had gone to his room. 

Gilbert pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and tried to fight back the tears. Why had he said that? That wasn't like him, it wasn't just cruel, it was wrong, Angus had no choice, Roy had hurt him, he had revealed just a small amount of the level of pain and abuse he had received at the hands of Roy, and Gilbert had used it to hurt him. He had expected better of himself too. 

Bash arrived an hour later, smiling and bearing gifts from Marilla. "Raspberry scones and cinnamon bread from the Cuthberts." He announced. 

"That's kind of her." Gilbert replied solemnly, stirring the stew. "Dinner is just finished."

"Where's Angus?" Bash asked, Angus usually made dinner.

"In his room." 

"I'm going to change into clean clothes and get him." Bash said, studying Gilbert. Bash changed and went halfway up the stairs. "Hey Kid, come and eat."

He took his usual spot at the table, Gilbert placed a bowl in front of him, one at his own spot and a third in Angus's still empty spot.  
"Matthew was real helpful about Animal husbandry, he says we can have a couple of the goats that are just about weaned. He also agreed to let us borrow his horse when Liberty goes into heat. If we get a foal, we can keep it, but next year he gets the foal if there is one."

"That's a good deal." Gilbert noted as Angus sat quietly down at the table, nodding at Bash in greeting. They bowed their heads and Bash said grace and they began eating. 

"What did you two get up to, today?" Bash was aware of the tension in the air, the three of them usually joked and kidded when together, it was nearly deathly silent in the room. He saw a blush fill Angus's face, and Gilbert frowned and looked at his stew. "You guys have an argument?" Angus just shrugged and avoided Bash's gaze and Gilbert didn't even acknowledge his question. "Well family fights sometimes, this better be resolved before tomorrow morning. I'm not spending the day with you two miserable mokes."

After dinner, Angus washed up the dishes while Gilbert and Bash took care of the animals, then he went back to his room. Bash attempted to talk to Gilbert about it but Gilbert refused. Gilbert went for a walk, strolling through the woods. Trying to make sense of everything that had happened and what he was feeling, he felt absolutely horrible for hurting Angus like he had, and it was wrong of him to be angry at Angus, he had made his choice, regardless of what Gilbert suspected, Angus had decided to pursue a woman and Gilbert had to respect that. 

Before bed he knocked on Angus's door, opening it when Angus called out "Yeah?" Angus was sitting at a chair by the window, a book open in his lap. Gilbert moved toward him, resting against the window sill. 

"You were right, let's forget about it. I'm sorry I used what you told me in confidence to hurt you. Not my finest moment, I promise you, I will never do that again, and I hope that if you can ever feel like you can trust me again, you will know you can still talk to me..about anything. I don't want us to fight."

"I don't want to either. You're forgiven." 

"Thank you. Like Bash said, brothers fight sometimes." Gilbert held out his hand for a handshake, Angus took it and Gilbert immediately felt the tingling were their hands were joined, sparks shooting up his arm. 

"Yeah...brothers." Angus agreed, not letting go of Gilbert's hand, those huge blue eyes looking into Gilbert's. The sound of Bash's bedroom door closing downstairs pulled them apart, Gilbert dropped Angus's hand, though he could still feel the electricity they shared. 

"Night." He said to Angus and retreated to his room.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana hatches a scheme. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this one. I had fun writing it. Confused Gilbert is just the best. 
> 
> Thanks for everything you guys do to support me, comments. kudos..recommendations! It really does make writing more fun.

The following Sunday, after church, Anne and Diana took their usual walk through town. "I have a plan."

"For what?" Anne asked.

"To see if Gilbert likes men." Diana explained.

"How?" Anne asked.

"Cole. He said it was alright to tell you. He likes men, the way Gilbert might. He says that he never noticed anything like that before but hasn't seen much of Gilbert since you all came home to Avonlea." She reveal. 

"I don't understand, how is Cole going to know?" Anne wondered.

"When Cole first told me about being the way he is, I thought he would be alone forever, where would he ever find someone like him here in Avonlea, I was so upset that my dear friend, would have no one. He assured me then that there was at least one more man like him, and another one he was fairly certain. Neither man would have been suitable for Cole, so he didn't pursue them, or talk to them about it. He said that sometimes he can just tell. And since moving to Charlottetown there are more men like him he is well acquainted with, he's informed me that a lot of men like him can usually tell."

Anne felt even more confused. "How could they tell? Is there some sort of signal?"

"I asked him that too, he said it's more of a sense, but that doesn't matter, we have a plan. I am to invite all three of you to Aunt Jo's for lunch, while you are there, Cole can see if he gets a sense from Gilbert."

"I don't know if it's going to work out but I would like to see Miss Barry and Cole again."

"It's lunch...what could go wrong?"

"You sure this is the right place Kid?" Bash asked, while he, Gilbert and Angus, standing in their best clothes, looked up at Josephine Barry's home. "It's like the plantations back in Trinidad."

"This is the address." Anne answered, she understood Bash's apprehension, she had never been accepted into a home like this, until meeting Gilbert and Diana.

"Josephine Barry is very wealthy, this is the address." Gilbert reassured them. "Remember when we are eating, just follow whatever Diana or Cole do." Gilbert hadn't been to many fancy lunches or dinners himself and was nervous. 

Diana must have been watching from the window because the door flung open and she ran down the stairs. "Angus, it's wonderful to see you." She said, grabbing Anne in a hug, Anne hugged her back, and Diana whispered. "Play along." She pulled back a bit and kissed Anne quickly on the lips. Bash said nothing but raised his eyebrows in amusement, Gilbert looked angry, Anne felt her face fill with hot blood, Diana winked at her and took her arm to lead her inside, Cole was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for them. 

"Good to see you again Angus." He greeted her, with a knowing smile. "You as well Gilbert and Sebastian?" Cole and Bash had met briefly at the picnic but hadn't spent much time together.

"Please call me Bash."

"All this ruckus must mean our guests have arrived." Josephine Barry swept into the foyer with her butler following. "Rollins, take their hats and jackets, I'm sure these young men are quite hungry from their journey."

Diana tucked her arm into Anne's and led her to the dining room whispering softly for Anne's ears only. "The plan is set, we will surely get to the bottom of it." Anne didn't respond, she was suddenly feeling very queasy and was second guessing this whole scheme. The truth didn't seem to matter suddenly. Did she really need to know Gilbert's secret...if he had one? Would she want Gilbert to cook up a plan like this to find out hers? It was too late to cancel the plan now, wasn't it?

The room was filled with sunshine and crystal, creating rainbows and reflections, bouncing off the glasses, candle sticks, light fixtures and the chandelier. The table was set with fine china, spotless linens and centerpieces exploding with flowers. "Miss Barry, this is exquisite." Angus gasped in awe. Gilbert had to agree, it was spectacular. Angus sat beside Diana, Gilbert sat across from Angus with Cole beside him, while Bash and Miss Barry sat at the ends. The butler, Rollins, arrived in the room with a maid, and the two of them began to serve. 

"Now Sebastian, tell me all about yourself." Miss Barry said, to Gilbert's ear it sounded like an order, but Bash liked to talk about himself so he happily complied. Gilbert could help but steal glances at Angus and Diana, she smiled so brightly when Angus, interjected into Bash's story, everytime Angus smiled back at Diana, Gilbert felt his stomach twist, and he would grip is knife and fork a little tighter. 

"Cole, would you mind passing the salt please." Diana asked, the salt was right in front of Gilbert so he reached out to get it for her, bumping hands with Cole.

"Sorry." Cole murmured, smiling shyly at Gilbert.

"No, I'm sorry." Gilbert replied. 

Gilbert didn't pay much attention to Cole, he nodded politely or responded fully when Cole commented or asked a question but he was finding himself unable to keep his eyes off Angus, the sunlight was shining right into his hair and it created a halo of shimmering fire. He looked mythological and Gilbert couldn't help but yearn to worship him. He noted vaguly when Cole patted his shoulder during conversation, or touched his wrist to get his attention, he was much more concerned with how many times Diana touched Angus's arm, at one point she laid her head on his shoulder and gazed up at him adoringly, Gilbert nearly choked on his salmon, Cole rubbed his back and offered him water. 

It wasn't until Diana was telling a story about the ship she took to France, that he became uncomfortably aware of Cole. "We hit a storm three days out of Halifax, it was rough and treacherous, we had to be strapped into our beds, to keep from falling out and getting injured. The waves were so huge, we would rise up to great heights and then drop back down with a crash, it felt as though our stomach would fly right out of our mouths. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time."

As Diana answered Bash's question about how long the storm lasted, Gilbert felt a something on his thigh, Cole's hand was under the table and was on his upper leg. It stroked his leg for a moment and then squeezed gently, Gilbert let out a yelp of surprise and jumped, banging his knee into the table, causing the glasses and cutlery to wobble and shake.

"Is everything alright, my Dear?" Josephine asked. 

"Oh yes, just fine, brilliant. Perfect." Gilbert fumbled.

"What's got you jumping like you saw a ghost?" Bash asked. 

"It's silly....I thought I saw a...bee, but it was just the light reflecting on my hand." Gilbert thought of a lie. They all seemed to accept it and returned to Diana's story. He felt the hand on his thigh again, higher up and he discreetly pushed it off with his own hand. Why was Cole doing this? 

During dessert, Cole leaned in close to Gilbert and whispered "Meet me in the washroom in five minutes." Gilbert had an idea of why Cole wanted to meet there and he wanted nothing to do with it, he shook his head slightly to indicate he had no desire to go there with Cole.   
"You won't regret it." Cole tried again and Gilbert just ignored him, staring at his bowl of freshly churned ice cream with berries. Had Angus told Cole about the kiss? Or Diana and Diana in turn told Cole? Gilbert was furious, Angus and he had promised to forget about it, Gilbert hadn't of course, but he had held it in confidence and Angus had told someone, or had some crazy idea to foist Gilbert off on Cole. 

He held his tongue though, through the remainder of the meal, the tea afterward and the tour of the gardens outside, he stewed quietly, growing angrier and angrier as they said goodbye. Diana clinging to Angus as she kissed his cheek and whispering into his ear, only made his blood go from a simmer to a boil. Still he held his tongue, Bash and Angus received only one word answers from him as they walked to the train station and for the entire duration of the train ride home. Gilbert stared out the window and refused to be engaged by either of his brothers. By the time they got back to the farm they had to get the animals settled for the evening, they all went to their rooms to change into work clothes, Angus preparing a light meal, since they had such an extravagant lunch, Bash and Gilbert out to the barn for the animals. 

Bash tried again to find out what was bothering Gilbert, Gilbert not answering at all. "Alright let's go get this settled between you two. I don't want to have to be Daddy and make you two play nice. You're grown, should know better than sulking and slamming around." Bash told him. Gilbert marched straight to the house when Angus was sweeping the floors. 

"I can not believe you told Cole Mackenzie." Gilbert exploded.

"I..."

"No, no more excuses. We're supposed to be family, brothers. And you told him."

"Told him what?" Bash asked calmly, only to be ignored by both of them.

"I was confused. I just needed some advice."

"You're confused? So am I! And you went right ahead and told Cole. Did you tell Diana too?" Gilbert asked. At Angus's guilty look, Gilbert's suspicions were confirmed. "For fuck's sake." He shouted.

"Hey..Gilbert calm down. It can't be that bad." Bash tried to play peacemaker, clearly also shocked by the usual affable Gilbert's unleashed rage. Angus for his part was cowering in the corner, holding the broom as if he might need to use it to defend himself. Some far away part of Gilbert noticed this and felt bad for scaring Angus, who had been so abused and hurt by Roy, but that part couldn't be heard over Gilbert's own pain of betrayal.

"Oh can't it? My "brother" here, betrayed my trust, if this gets out we're done. Not just me but all of us. We will be run out of town and off the island. Forget about me getting accepted to college, this will follow me the rest of my life. How could you ruin me like this Angus?"

"They won't tell, I promise you." Angus sounded so small and afraid. "I'll leave, no one will care. You can say I didn't like farming and went back to the ship. Blame everything on me, you can survive this." Leave? Angus was going to leave. Gilbert felt a desperate fear at the idea of Angus leaving.

"That's not the answer Kid. You both need to calm down and tell me what happened. Now." Bash, who didn't want to be their father, sure put on his fatherly voice. And Gilbert felt the anger leave him, and fear replace it. He was about to disappoint his best friend, Bash would probably want to leave, he wouldn't want to be around someone like Gilbert. 

"We..." Angus started to explain but Gilbert interrupted.

"I kissed Angus. And he told Diana and Cole." You could have heard a pin drop, there was no noise, no sounds of breathing, movement, even the birds outside had grown silent. And then Bash started laughing, bent over at the waist, tears streaming down his face, gasping for breath laughter. 

"Blythe you Moke." He managed to squeeze out. 

"This isn't funny, Bash." Gilbert told him.

"It surly is, I knew she had an appreciative eye for you, but I must have been too stupid or blind to see you falling for her." Bash was still laughing, not as hard, wiping the tears from, his face. Gilbert was very confused at this point, he looked at Angus to see if he knew what Bash was talking about, but he was just staring at Bash, his face deathly white.

"Who are you talking about?" Gilbert asked. Which made Bash break out into more laugher. 

"You know? How long?" Angus asked, voice filled with trepidation. 

"Since that first day, Kid."

"Knew what? I don't know what's happening" Gilbert admitted.

"You are so smart, but so dumb sometimes Blythe. I've known from the first minute that Angus was a girl."

Gilbert's world went quiet and black.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout of Bash's truthbomb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can not believe the reaction from you all. Seriously! I am glad you all liked it, and I hope you all recovered from "Dying". LOL Just because the truth is out doesn't mean everything is easy peasy for Shirbert. 
> 
> Thank you for the Comments, Kudos and hits(multiple time readers I'm looking at you!), I am truly humbled by it.

"I've known from that first minute that Angus was a girl."

Bash knew. Bash knew and had never said anything or gave any indication he knew. Now Gilbert knew. Gilbert looked at her, his face was grey, he blinked a few times and then fell in a heap on her freshly swept floor. They both ran to Gilbert, Bash lightly slapping his face.

"Never figured you for a swooner, Blythe." Bash teased the somewhat conscious Gilbert.

"Is it true?" Gilbert asked groggily, she shared a look with Bash and then nodded at Gilbert. "Oh thank God." 

"Come on Gilbert, let's get you up into a chair and catch you up to what has been painfully obvious to me." Bash said heaving Gilbert up and into a chair at the table, Anne got him a glass of water and some bread and cheese.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" She asked Bash, her voice was thick with fear still. Her heart was still pounding, would they want her to leave now? They would know she was a liar. 

"You wanted us to think you were a boy, who am I to question your reasons. You worked hard, didn't cause trouble, so I treated you like I would any man, you eventually became my brother, and I meant it when I said you were my family, my sister." Bash answered. Anne smiled at that.

"So did I." She said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gilbert asked Bash, between a bite of cheese. 

"Angus didn't tell you. He...she wanted to be a boy, I wasn't going to ruin that for her."

Gilbert finally looked at her, "I was so confused. From the beginning, something wasn't right. Why are you pretending?" She couldn't tell them, not yet, they weren't angry at her lie, she could stay for a while yet. She shook her head.

"It's not safe to be a woman on your own in the world." She told him, and he nodded his understanding.

"But after the ship, once we got here? Why continue?"

"I had a family for the first time in my life, people I felt safe with, I didn't want to lose that. If I came to Avonlea as a woman, this town wouldn't let me stay here, in this house with two men. That would be a whole other scandal. Could I be equal partners with you as a woman? No one will treat me like one."

"We will. We're still partners." Gilbert vowed, and she felt her stomach flip, he was such a good person. Even in the face of her deception, he was forgiving and giving. 

"Absolutely." Bash agreed. 

"So what now?" Gilbert asked.

"I have to continue to be a male. I have the courtship with Diana,,,"

"Why are you doing that? Do you have feelings for her?" Gilbert interrupted. 

"I love her so much, she is the best friend I have always dreamed about. We have a deal, she has a potential suitor in me, which keeps her parents from trying to marry her off before she can go to college, and she helps me keep Jane Andrews away."

"What about when you reveal to Avonlea you are not a man but a woman?" Bash wondered.

"Who knows when that will be, by then Diana will have found herself a real suitor or husband and who knows if I will still be here."

"Where would you be?" Gilbert asked.

"Who knows the future..." She avoided the real answer. 

"You have a future here." Bash reminded her and she loved him more for that. She nodded, not willing to alert them, that she might have to flee one day. 

"So what is your name then?" Gilbert asked her, and she shook her head.

"I shouldn't say, you may slip up and say it in front of someone else, I'll continue to be Angus."

"So we just go on like before?" Gilbert asked and Anne nodded.

"Nothing has to change." She reminded them.

"One thing has to change." Bash spoke up. The both looked at him, wondering what he meant. "You two were kissing when Blythe thought you were a man. He knows you are a woman now. Am I going to have to worry about you getting a baby inside of her?"

"Bash!" Gilbert blurted out, Anne shook her head.

"That was just one time." She stammered, blushing at the memory of wanting to lay down under the trees in the orchard and let Gilbert take her.

"I've seen you looking at him plenty of times, he is pretty for a dumb moke." She blushed at that, as well. "You're adults, both of you smart enough to know what happens when you make a baby out of wedlock."

"That won't be a problem. I promise." Gilbert swore, Anne nodded too.

"Great, now, let's get back to normal."

"Bash, how did you know?" Anne asked him, while he took some of the bread and cheese she had prepared for dinner.

"Kid, I've been to a lot of places in this world, and seen more things than my mind could have imagined. Seen plenty of men living as women and women as men, I just knew."

"Aunt Jo said it was always the Adam's Apple." Anne noted. 

"She knows?" Gilbert asked. Anne nodded. "Was I the only one who didn't?"

"No most people didn't even question it. I thought you were suspicious a few times. I was sure you would figure it out."

"I did sense something wasn't right with you but I never would have guessed that...wait a minute, Bash and I got undressed in front of you. More than once." Gilbert blushed now, remembering all the time he walked around in his underwear in front of her.

"Speak for yourself Blythe, I always kept my pants on. " Bash joked.

"Sorry." She squeaked out the apology, feeling embarrassed. "But Bash you invited me swimming, when you knew I was female."

"I knew you wouldn't go, so I wanted to see how you would squirm out of it. Part of the fun of knowing your secret was seeing how you would get out of situations like that."

"Thanks Brother." She accented the word sarcastically. "I'm going to head up to bed, but I wanted to say that I am truly sorry that I lied to you both, at the time I didn't know you and by the time, I knew I could trust you both, I was too afraid to tell you the truth. Thank you both for being everything I could hope for in a family."

"You can tell me...us anything." Gilbert told her and she smiled at them both before going to her room.

Gilbert stared at the spot she had just left, still trying to make sense of it all. She was a woman, he had been attracted to her all this time, twisted up inside because his attraction felt wrong and right at the same time. He didn't want a man, but Angus, what was her name, was a woman. Things that didn't make sense at the time all started to add together. But there was more, he sensed that too. She was still hiding something, and she was afraid to tell them. Why was she still so afraid? And then it all came back to him, the fear she had for Sully, how she cowered when Gilbert got angry, how she had cried out in pain as she relived those horrible assaults from Roy. Of course she was still afraid, she had even more reason to be afraid, she was vulnerable, they knew she was a woman, they could take her right there and do what they wanted, she wasn't strong enough to stop them. She must see every man as a potential threat. 

"She's hiding something else." Bash said after a while. Gilbert nodded, it was more than the abuse she suffered from Roy. 

"Do you think she will stay?"

"She's got every reason to, it's safe here, she's got a roof over her head, food in her belly and a third of a farm. But I won't be surprised to wake up one day and find out she slipped away in the night." Bash told him, and Gilbert felt like it was a warning. As if to prepare himself for that day. "Don't forget your honour, Blythe."

"What do you mean?"

"I know what it's like to want a woman...you don't always make the right decisions. You need to stay smart." Gilbert couldn't even deny he wanted her. He had wanted her when she was a man, now that he knew she was a woman, he felt that desire still.

"I don't know what I want, to be honest. I was so confused and scared, and it's a relief to know that Angus is girl, maybe on some instinctual level I realized it, but I don't know what is going to happen Bash, it's not like I can court her, but I won't do anything so stupid as to get her pregnant."

"Would you want to court her? If she was free to do so?"

"Would she even be willing? I don't know, I really like Angus, love him...her like I do you. Can I romantically love someone that is hiding so many parts of themself?"

"It's going to hurt when she leaves us." Bash stated and Gilbert nodded knowing Bash was sending him another warning to protect his heart.

In her room Anne sat at the window, staring at the night sky. the day, had it only been one day? repeating over and over again in her mind. Rushing through their chores to get to Josephine's on time, laughing and teasing, on the train ride, Diana, Cole, Aunt Jo, the ridiculous plan of Diana's. Anne had felt uncomfortable, watching Cole flirt with Gilbert, and felt embarrassed to be part of it. Gilbert's palpable anger toward her on the train ride home, blowing up at her the first chance he got, and Bash revealing he had always known she was a woman, but keeping her secret. While the memories of the day were relived again and again, a few of them came more often. Gilbert's angry face when Diana had greeted her with a kiss, Gilbert's look of betrayal when he realized she had told someone about them, and Diana's final words before they left Aunt Jo's. "Cole says Gilbert's attractions are not for men, but you. Just you, he couldn't keep his eyes off you. I noticed too."

That couldn't be true. She had noticed him looking toward her and Diana, but assumed he was looking at Diana because she was so beautiful. Attracted to her? That didn't seem possible, despite the kiss, despite him being so relieved to know she was a woman, Bash had warned them about making a baby...that was a ridiculous comment, a confused, lonely, barely out of boyhood man, that was all Gilbert Blythe was. There was no way that he would be interested in her, she was plain, even when she wore dresses and had longer hair, she wasn't beautiful, now that he knew she wasn't pure. She wouldn't be worth wasting his time on now. 

But at least she could wouldn't have to be afraid of them finding out any longer, she could loosen the bindings a bit, and in reality, men's clothes were far more comfortable than women's. She liked having the freedom of movement trousers allowed, and no corset, she liked breathing deeply. Nothing had to change, that's what she told Bash and she wasn't going to make him regret trusting her. She would continue to work hard, she could at least cook them some decent food now that her secret was out, she would continue to hold up her side of the agreement with Diana, and she would enjoy the time she had with her family. 

She was still sitting by the window when there was a knock on her door. "Come in." She knew who it was, she knew the sound of his feet on the stairs, it took nine steps from the top of the stairs to his room, across from hers, he always waited several moments before knocking, as though he was trying to decide to interrupt her. 

"Hey..." He said with a uncomfortable smile.

"Hey." She replied, hoping he hadn't come looking for a fight.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier, yelling at you, cursing at you, I didn't know you were a woman and I shouldn't have sworn." He apologized.

"That's bullshit." She retorted and his eyebrows flew up to nearly his hairline.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"That is bullshit. You had every right to be mad at me. What I did was stupid, and it could have hurt us all. I deserved your anger, but do not start treating me like some weak, woman with the vapors. I've heard a lot worse than that in the course of my life. If we are to be equal partners, you can't censor your speech based on my sex." She told him.

"You're right. I'm sorry about that."

"I am sorry for betraying your trust. You, me and Bash, we're a family and we need to trust each other.

"Yeah we do." He stared at her for a while, as if studying her, she thought maybe he was looking for signs of femininity that he may have previously missed. He laughed lightly, his eyes squinted for a second while he did. "How did I ever think you were male...for even a second?" She just shrugged.

"I'm very good at pretending." She answered. 

"Will you tell me your real name one day?"

"One day."

"Good night...Angus."

"Good night Gilbert."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adjusting to life, now that they know Anne's secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent way too much time reading other AWAE stories yesterday instead of writing my own. So blame all those other amazing authors for distracting me!
> 
> Thanks for all your comments and opinions and your theories. I love reading them and seeing how close you all get.

Things changed. The ruse stayed in place, Gilbert and Bash kept up their parts, aiding Angus when she needed them to. She still helped on the farm, doing all the same physical work she had previously, she continued her scheduled engagements with Diana, and she continued to avoid going to Green Gables, in case Phillip remembered her. Bash and Gilbert still occasionally swore around her, they all still teased each other, but things changed. The food quality improved, thanks to Angus's skills. It was like Holy Communion that first morning, when Gilbert and Bash awoke to the smell of frying ham, toast fried with an egg in the centre, which Angus claimed were called "One eyed Jacks", Bash declared them delicious and begged her to make them every morning. 

It was small changes that Gilbert really noticed, Bash didn't leave them alone as much or as long as he used to, and Gilbert found that he had stopped touching her. Before the reveal of her true sex, he had patted Angus's arm or back for comfort or approval of a job well done. Sometimes he would ruffle his hair after a good job or a funny joke, now he was acutely aware that Angus was a woman and would not touch her without invitation, even when she was crying in the night from a terrifying dream. Once he would have shook Angus awake, rubbing his shoulder, now he stood in the doorway and called out softly until she woke up. It physically hurt him not to take her in his arms and hold her while she cried. If he could find this Roy, he would rip his flesh from his body and beat the rest into a pulp. 

Gilbert wasn't sure what to make of his feelings now. Before he had been so wrapped up in wondering why he felt things for a man, he had never taken the time to think about why he was attracted to Angus, now that he knew she was a woman, he took the time to mull over why he did like her. She was funny, once she relaxed around you she was talkative, and would go on and on about something that inspired her, it could be how the wind spoke through the leaves, it could be about how honey tasted better in tea than sugar, or it could be about the injustices of marginalized people, be them black, native, women or poor people. He found himself staring at the furrow that would appear between her eyebrows when she was feeling passionate, he wanted to kiss her right there, and see if the furrow would disappear for a few moments at least. He began to notice small things that endeared her to him, specific freckles he would look at on her face, one on the right side of her chin, the one that lived right below her left eye, and the beside her mouth, he knew he had kissed her there, that day under the apple trees, he wanted to again. Her fingers were long and dexterous, she could knead dough, twist rope into strong knots, or run them through Liberty's mane. Sometimes when they were working in the fields or in the garden by the house, she would stop, and lift her face toward the sun, closing her eyes and smiling to herself for just a moment, he wanted to know what she thought and felt in those seconds. He wanted to know what she thought all the time. She would talk about books, places they had been, nature, food, and now that her secret was out, ribbons and dresses, but she didn't reveal her hopes and dreams, her hurt or her past, that was all locked up tight within her.   
And he was jealous still, he knew it was ridiculous to be jealous of Diana, the relationship was fake and they were just protecting each other, but he couldn't help it. When Angus sat beside Diana at church, smiled down at the pretty brunette, he couldn't help the burning he felt in his stomach. When they walked side by side, Diana's hand tucked neatly in the crook of Angus's arm...he wanted to come up with an excuse to get Angus alone with him. 

He knew the biggest problem was he wanted to save her. He wanted to be a fairytale prince and rescue her, and give her a happily ever after. It was ridiculous, life wasn't a fairytale, and Angus had already saved herself. She didn't need Gilbert stumbling through her life and trying to make it better. But everytime he heard her crying in her sleep, or nervously darting her eyes around as if planning an escape, he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her problems away. He was a total fool.

"Tatiana." Gilbert blurted out one day, the potatoes were close to being ready for harvest, so they were checking the wooden baskets and bins for any weak or damaged ones. Angus shook her head and continued to check the crate she was inspecting.

"I like that one, sounds fancy." Bash commented. 

"It's Russian and it is rather pretty, like a Tzarina." Angus agreed. Bash and Gilbert had begun a game where they called out names, in hopes that they would land on her real one, but they usually guessed uncommon names, enjoying her reactions. 

"What about Penelope?" Bash tried next. 

"Penelope was Odysseus' wife." Angus noted shaking her head, that it wasn't her name.

"She was more than that, she was loyal, waiting twenty years for her husband to return, and very intelligent, she outwitted all the men that would marry her while waiting for Odysseus." Gilbert provided. 

"Our Angus here is surely as intelligent as Penelope. " Bash said, causing Angus to blush.

"Surely." Gilbert agreed, and he noticed a slight flinch and hesitation by Angus. What had caused it? He thought over their words. Was her name Shirley? He decided to save that one for another time, he liked their game and he didn't want to guess it just yet. "Well since we are talking about ancient Greeks what about Cassandra?"

The three of them took a trip to Carmody one Saturday morning, Bash wanted to send his mother a letter in Trinidad, Angus wanted to pick up some food supplies, and Gilbert was going to look for a few new books for them to all enjoy. He also wanted to get some paper, he was working with the new Avonlea teacher Miss Stacey, she was giving him some advice on what to study to prepare for the Queens College entrance exam, she even gave him approval to attend some of the study sessions she was having for her students, after school. He wanted to help Angus too, who loved to learn and had been denied access to schooling. With plans for them to meet up by the wagon, the three separated, Gilbert went to the blacksmith first, he had to order some new reigns for Liberty, the horse tack they had was too worn out for any real riding, Angus wanted to learn how to ride, so they needed some new gear. 

After he wandered to the general store, to get the paper and a few extra pencils, he spied some chalk and decided to buy some, Angus could use his old slate for most of her work, he was just about to go to the counter to pay when he spotted the spools of ribbon and lace in the back of the store. He knew he shouldn't, it was pointless, useless and possibly dangerous but he couldn't stop staring at a coil of red silk ribbon, it had a looping pattern repeating on the edges.

"See something you want to buy for your sweetheart?" The shopkeeper asked him and even though he opened his mouth to tell him he didn't have a sweetheart, he nodded and asked for whatever length women usually got for their hair.

'You idiot, she hasn't got hair to wear it in.' He told himself, but he happily let the shopkeeper cut it to the desired length and add it to the package of paper, pencils and pens. 

Afterward he found several books in the bookstore and went to the wagon to wait for the others, Angus was already there, sacks of flour, sugar, and oats in the back. "Get everything you needed?" Angus asked and Gilbert nodded in reply.

"You?"

"Got a deal on flour." Angus smiled. "Here comes Bash." She said, Bash wasn't wearing his usual smile.

"Why didn't you tell me about The Bog?" Bash asked Gilbert.

"The Bog? Where did you hear about that?" Gilbert wondered why Bash would want to know about The Bog.

"The clerk at the post office. Why didn't you tell me there were more people like me here." Bash was frowning.

"They aren't here, they're in Charlottetown, but honestly I didn't even think about it." Gilbert admitted. Would Bash want to go there and live? Be with other people like him.

"Didn't think about it?" Bash repeated incredulously.

"What's the Bog?" Angus asked. 

"It's on the outskirts of Charlottetown, it's not safe." Gilbert warned.

"It's a community of black people, is that why it isn't safe?" Bash question Gilbert, and Gilbert felt he wasn't explaining himself clearly.

"Of course not. Bash, you're my brother. We worked together side by side for three years, I've made you my partner, my family, I don't think The Bog is dangerous because it's black people there. There is more crime there, probably because most of the people there don't have access to regular steady jobs, they aren't allowed access to farmland, even fresh water and food are hard to get there. Desperate people break the laws sometimes. I didn't tell you because honestly, I didn't think about it. I'm sorry."

"I know you don't judge based on skin colour, but a whole community of people like me, I want to go." Bash softened.

"I'll take you there now, Angus can take the wagon to Josephine Barry's while we go."

"You'll stand out like a sore thumb, I'll visit it on my own the first time. You two can go visit Josephine." They all got in the wagon and Gilbert urged Liberty to start pulling the wagon, toward Charlottetown. 

They dropped Bash off at the outskirts of The Bog, and continued to Josephine's place. She was thrilled by their visit, ordered Rollins to have the wagon taken to the stable and Liberty wiped down, watered and fed. Then brought Angus and Gilbert into the parlor, calling to Cole to come and join them. 

"Angus!" Cole rushed to hug her in greeting and then smiled shyly at Gilbert, while Angus chatted to Josephine. "Sorry about last time."

"It's alright, Angus told me about the plan."

"So you know then.

"Some of it, she has a lot of secrets." He wondered how much Cole knew.

"Don't we all." Cole responded with a chuckle and turned to join the other two. After a serving of tea and scones, Cole grabbed Angus, he wanted to show her his artwork, and dragged her out of the room, leaving Gilbert alone with Josephine. 

"Tell me Mr. Blythe..."

"Gilbert please."

"Then you must call me Aunt Jo."

"I would be honoured to."

"Tell me Gilbert, what more do you know of our Angus?"

"I'm not sure...she wouldn't want me to talk about it."

"Of course she wouldn't, she's hiding something and she's in great trouble. If we don't help her we could lose her." Aunt Jo was right, hadn't he and Bash said she would disappear one day, the idea still made his heart clench.

"What do you know?" He asked. 

"She told me that when the truth came out, she wouldn't be able to stay. She was right when she said you and Sebastian would forgive her lie, but the thing that would make it impossible to stay hasn't come out. Yet."

"She implied she might not be here in the future." Gilbert remembered.

"She said the same to me. She's running from something." Josephine concluded. "A husband?"

Gilbert thought about Roy, he didn't think they were married. He wouldn't tell her about Roy or the rape, he had promised Angus. "I don't think there was a husband. Maybe a suitor she wasn't interested in."

"Do you know her name?" She asked and he shook his head before he remembered something.

"Maybe...she reacted to Shirley once."

"She doesn't look like a Shirley. What else do you know?" He thought about it for a few moments.

"Raised in Halifax at an orphan asylum and foster homes, worked in a hotel until she got her job on the SS Primrose. I think she wasn't disguising herself at the hotel. "

"I'm going to have my lawyer look into her." Josephine told him.

"What if it's bad?" 

"We will do all we can to make sure she is safe. I'm sure that is the outcome you wish for as well."

"I don't want her to leave." He freely admitted. Aunt Jo smiled at that.

"No I'm sure you don't. I have to write this new information down, you go find Cole and Angus, his room is upstairs, turn right at the end of the hallway and his room is third door on the left."

"Thank you Aunt Jo, will you keep me informed?"

"Of course, and if you acquire any new information..."

"I'll be sure to let you know."

He followed Aunt Jo's directions to Cole's room, knocking on the door when he got there. "Come in." He heard Angus call out. He entered the room and froze in his tracks. She was in front of the window, the bright summer sunshine lighting her up like a flame. Her hair had grown a little longer, still very short on the back and sides, the top reached just above her eye brows and framed her eyes, the sunlight made her red hair look like a halo. 

"Gilbert...I thought you were Cole, he's gone to get a different dress." She looked terrified, and he noticed at her words, she was wearing a dress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always bugged me how Bash and Gilbert first talked about the Bog. I know Gilbert is not perfect, and I genuinely believe it never occurred to him to mention the Bog, but when he dismissed it so easily at the time seemed out of character to me.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's getting hot in here. Gilbert and Anne come to some realizations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked this chapter. I felt myself smiling a lot. I hope you all like it too. Thanks for all you kudos, reads and comments, I am learning so much about you all.

The dress was light blue, it hugged the curves of her hips and breasts, sleeves cut to the elbows allowed him to see her slender arms, a slight v at the neck line gave him a glimpse of her collar bones at her throat. He couldn't breathe, or think, he just stared, and she stared back. "I should go." He finally managed to get out. 

"Don't be ridiculous. We are having a great time playing dress up." Cole said from behind him, entering the room with some more clothes piled in his arms. "Sit over there and enjoy it." He pointed to a chair in the corner and Gilbert mutely nodded and walked over, keeping his eyes on Angus. Cole held up some more dresses and Angus seemed to hesitate.

"Red heads should never wear pink." She informed Cole, Gilbert wondered why that was a fashion rule, he loved when Angus's cheeks turned pink, he thought it was quite becoming on her. 

"Red or green, Gilbert" Cole asked, holding up two different dresses, the green was a pale green with white accents. The red was deep, bold and flashy, something Angus tried not to be, he remembered the red ribbon her had foolishly purchased for her.

"Red." Gilbert managed to croak out. 

"I think the green." Angus argued, but Cole shook his head and handed her the dress and pointed her into the small changing room door, next to the window. She sighed, took the dress and disappeared into the room. 

"You should play dress up too." Cole decided as he placed a top hat on Gilbert's head. "Maybe a tuxedo. You could dance with Angus." He tempted Gilbert.

"I don't know about that." Gilbert told him, already imagining spinning Angus around in a circle while she wore the red dress.

"Oh I would love to paint that. You both must pose for a sketch, then I can paint it later based off the drawing." Cole continued to plan, not even hearing Gilbert's attempt at a protest. "Here Just put the Jacket on over what you have on...please?" Cole clearly was not above begging. Gilbert sighed and stood up and took the jacket, pulling in on, it fit him perfectly. "I wish we had a boutonniere or a bow tie." Cole said, smoothing out the fabric on Gilbert's shoulders. 

"Oh my..." He heard Angus say from the changing room and turned to look at her. When Gilbert was ten he walked behind his father's old horse and got kicked in the chest, flew a good ten feet away, had a couple of cracked ribs, but in those first ten seconds immediately after he had lain on the ground, unable to breathe. Literally had the wind kicked out of him and had gasped for breath, in pain and in a panic. That was how he felt at the moment seeing Angus standing there in her brazen red dress. It was an older style, not quite the modest Victorian dresses of now, it had bare arms, from the shoulders down, and a deeper cut at her chest, he could see the alabaster skin of her full rounded breasts. The wind was knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe.

"You are exquisite." Cole declared, abandoning Gilbert, who was sure he was dying, to run over to Anne. "Gilbert has agreed to let me pose you both and I will quickly sketch a picture to use as guide for a painting I want, will you do it?"

"Will you give me raven hair and perfect flawless skin?" She asked him and Gilbert felt himself frowning, why would she want that? Her skin was already perfect.

"No, you will have your beautiful red hair, I may add some though, if you don't mind." He teased, ruffling her short male hair cut.

"I would appreciate that. Gilbert, you look very nice." She complimented him and he finally found his breath, taking a huge gulp of air.

"Cole is right, you are exquisite." He gasped out. She looked at him with disbelief. Cole took her shoulders and guided her to the full length mirror and she stared at herself in astonishment. Cole motioned for Gilbert to join them and he stood next to Angus, looking at themselves in the mirror, he thought he looked ridiculous in the top hat, but seeing them next to each other in their borrowed finery, they looked like they belonged with each other. He could easily imagine, arriving at the stairs to Josephine Barry's house, helping Angus out of the carriage, them arriving to the admiring stares of other guests, gliding over the dance floor, perhaps a stolen kiss....

Anne gave all the credit to the dress, the look Gilbert had on his face, how he had sounded strained when he spoke, it was a very beautiful dress. More than Anne had ever dreamed of growing up, it was just missing puffed sleeves, it had ruffles down the center of the bodice, which drew the eye to her breasts, but she didn't mind Gilbert...or Cole, being able to look there, the black beads that adorned the dress, sparkled in the sunlight and she could almost imagine it was candle light, and she was attending a grand celebration with her...she caught Gilbert's eye in the mirror, he had that same look he had before he kissed her in the orchard.The butterflies in her stomach fluttered around more forcefully. 

"Let me get my sketch book." Cole said to them, looking in his side table drawer. "I must have left it downstairs, I'll be right back." Dashing out of the room. The two of them just continued to stare at each other, she couldn't help but recall their kiss, how Bash seemed to think they shouldn't be alone together, because they would possibly make a baby. Gilbert wanted her, she knew that, she tried to pretend he didn't for a while, told herself it was impossible, for him to want someone like her, it should have been impossible for her to be where she was. How she grew up, yet she was standing in a mansion, in a beautiful dress, beside someone she knew she could trust, she had a safe home to go back too, and an income from a farm she owned a third of. What was truly impossible? That someone like Gilbert, who was kind, intelligent, thoughtful, didn't judge people based on their class or their colour, could care for her, despite her plain looks and shorn hair? Everything she knew about him told her that he connected to people through more than just physical appearance. The impossibility that he would want her...didn't seem impossible at all anymore. She felt her heart nearly explode at that realization, he wanted her, they could be together, didn't she deserve just a small slice of happiness? 

"You look every inch an elegant gentleman." She finally spoke, He shook his head and laughed.

"A jacket and a top hat do not make a proper gentleman."

"You don't need fancy clothes to be a gentleman, you are one everyday."

"Sure, with dirt under my fingernails, worn boots and sweat stained clothes." She turned to him, and he turned to face her.

"Clothes don't make the man."

"I could say the same to you. You don't need this dress," He reached out and touched one of the ruffles, that lay dangerously close to the bare skin of her cleavage. "Or long raven coloured hair." His hand had moved to tuck some of her shaggy hair behind her ear, the barest contact of his hand with her ear had her breaking out in goosebumps. "Clothes don't make the man or woman...you are always beautiful." She believed him, he really thought she was beautiful. 

"Found it!" Cole declared from the doorway. Her instinct was to jump back, they had been caught, but Gilbert stayed still, still staring into her eyes. She thought he was going to kiss her, right there in front of Cole. 

"Where do you want us to stand?" She finally asked Cole when it seemed neither man was going to say anything.

"Oh...I think right here by the window, I just need a rough sketch for proportions, perspective and angles, then I can paint in the background, colours and details later." Cole told them while moving the chair out of the way. She followed Gilbert over to the window, and waited for more instructions. "Okay, start dancing, I'll stop you when I see the pose I want."

"I don't know how to dance." Anne told them, feeling very self conscious.

"I do." Gilbert told her, took her hand and placed it on his shoulder, took her other hand and held it in his, placed his left hand on her waist and told her. "It's cliche but...follow my lead." And he began to slowly guide her through the steps, when she seemed comfortable he sped up the steps and spun her around in a circle, the dress swishing around her legs and they danced. 

"Stop right there." Cole called out, Gilbert stopped and she froze too. They were in profile to Cole, who looked at them quietly for a moment before moving toward them. He took their joined hands and lowered them a bit. "Do you mind pulling her a bit closer?" He asked them and she found herself closer to Gilbert Blythe, their bodies were pressed against each other, she became aware of the heat pooling between her legs. Cole had them turn or tilt their heads a few times until he was happy, fluffed out the skirt of her dress, and then he sat in the chair and began to sketch them, silently lost in his art. Anne became acutely aware of every place her body was touching Gilbert's, their stomachs and chests, his hand was on her back, just a few inches from her bottom, they were much closer than any decent couple would be at an event like a party or dance. She studied his face, he had a smattering of freckles over his nose, likely from all the sun her got, the sunlight was glinting through his hair and she smiled at the hints of red in it. His eyes, she liked when they went dark, instead of the warm brown they usually were, accented with green, grey and gold, his eyes had gone dark brown, the only time they went that dark were these moments, the ones where they were close, the ones where she thought he might kiss her. She tried not to look at his lips, but was too weak to prevent it. She remembered how soft they felt against her own, how they had been warm and insistent, how he had slid his tongue between her own lips, she couldn't stop herself from licking her own lips in memory. The hand on her back gripped her tighter for a second, and his eyes stayed on her lips for several moments, his look intensified before he smiled. 

"Cole, my throat is terribly dry, would you mind getting me a glass of water?" Gilbert asked, holding their position.

"Oh..yeah. I'll be right back. Don't move." He ordered. The moment Cole left the room, Gilbert dropped his head and claimed her lips. Her legs went weak but the hand on her back held her up, this time it wasn't the desperate frantic kiss they had previously shared. This one was soft, slow, almost exploratory, as if he wanted to learn every inch of her mouth. She heard herself making noises she wasn't even aware of, the tingles she had felt between her thighs became a painful throb. She wanted more, needed him to touch her, she wanted to touch him, taste him.

"I can't leave you two alone, at all." They heard Bash say from the doorway. Gilbert lifted his mouth from hers, but didn't look away from her, instead he smiled such a happy carefree smile, that she found herself smiling back at him. 

"It's probably not a good idea." Gilbert finally addressed Bash's comment, still not taking his eyes off Anne's, and she couldn't help but laugh at his boldness. 

"Sorry Bash, but you two stay like that." She heard Cole tell them. "You look perfect, what I envisioned." The room was silent except for the sound of Cole's charcoal on the paper. She wished that Cole and Bash would leave so Gilbert could kiss her again, part of her didn't even care if he kissed her again with them there. "All finished, I can't wait to start painting it."

They held each other for a while, ignoring Cole's comments about the type of paints he was planning to use and just looked at each other. She felt like she could finally read his face, thoughts and ridiculous eyebrow language. 

"You can let her go now, Blythe." Bash interrupted them again, she frowned at that and Gilbert's face mirrored her annoyance.

"I don't want to." He freely admitted and she threw back her head and laughed. 

"Neither do I." She told him and he squeezed her tighter. 

"Blythe, we need to get back to Avonlea and get the animals settled for the night, Lady is going to need to be milked." Gilbert studied her for a moment, and because she was now fluent in the language of Gilbert's eyebrows, she knew he was asking if he should let her go, she gave him a small sad nod, and she felt his hands loosening on her, just before he let her go and stepped back, he dropped a quick kiss on her nose, causing her to laugh, she noted Cole was watching with a huge smile and Bash, while looking annoyed with their antics, didn't look angry. Anne went into the change room to take off the dress, hands trembling as she tried to settle her excitement and nerves, it was going to be different now right? She could hear them through the door.

"What am I going to do about you Blythe?" Bash asked.

"Nothing, trust me to do this right."

"She's hiding from something, you could get your heart broken." Bash was saying and she stilled. They knew she was hiding something else.

"I don't care. I'll convince her to stay. She doesn't have to leave."

"And what about you? Your dreams for college?" Gilbert didn't answer but Bash continued. "You would give up your dreams for her?"

She couldn't let him do that, she could let themselves be anything but siblings. He would turn his life upside down for her, she knew that, and she could be gone in three days or three years, and he would be left with nothing to show for it but a broken heart. She couldn't let that happen, she wouldn't let that happen.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert is not happy, and makes a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is a little shorter than I like to make a chapter but I had to end it like that. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I look forward to your reactions.
> 
> Thanks for all the insightful comments and questions you guys always have. Love you all so much!

Anne left the room, to find Cole looking at his sketch, beaming, Gilbert looking annoyed at Bash, he didn't like Bash's questions, and Bash looking worried. She couldn't look at Gilbert, she had to be strong and with the taste of him still on her tongue she wouldn't have the strength to resist him, "I'm sorry I didn't say it before, but you looked lovely before." Bash told her.

"She still does." Gilbert told him, a hard edge in his voice. She looked down at her baggy pants, and work shirt and shook her head. 

"It was nice to feel like a princess for a short while. Thank you Cole, I have never worn anything so stunning."

"Aunt Jo has tons of things just hanging in closets or folded away in trunks. If you ever want to play dress up again, I'm here." 

"Well, we should go thank Miss Barry for entertaining you two." Bash said with a sarcastic tone. Gilbert turned to follow Bash, Anne hesitated. 

"I need to talk to Cole for a moment, I'll be right down." Anne told them, Gilbert looked at her one last time, his eyebrows coming together in a frown and she easily read what they said. He was worried, she hadn't smiled at him, barely looked at him, he knew she was already having second thoughts. "Cole could I please have the sketch when you are done with it?"

"Of course." He responded

"Thank you, so much."

"You know, no matter what happened to you before...you have the right to be happy." He told her, taking her hand into his.

"I am happy." And it wasn't a lie, she was happier than she had ever been.

"He is in love with you."

"I think you're right." She agreed, fighting with her emotions to stay calm.

"I've known Gilbert Blythe for a long time, you couldn't ask for a better man." He reminded her.

"I'm well aware. Thank you for a lovely afternoon, one that I will always hold dear to my heart."

"Will you say goodbye before you leave?" He asked her. She knew he meant when she left Avonlea and PEI.

"I'll try." That was the closest she could promise, she hugged him quickly before she joined the others to thank Josephine for her hospitality.

It was hard for Gilbert to be angry with Bash, even at the worst of his teasing, Gilbert would smile and shake his head, knowing that Bash teased because he loved. As soon as Angus walked out of the closet, not smiling and refusing to meet his eyes, he knew she had heard what Bash had said. He said so on the way down to find Aunt Jo.

"She heard you. What you said."

"I didn't mean for her to."

"But she did. She's already shut me out." Gilbert had too much respect for Josephine Barry to shout in her house, but he wanted to.

"Maybe it's for the best."

"No it's not. You keep telling me I am a man. You trusted me enough to come here, to live with me and be my partner, why can't you trust me with this? She is the only person I have ever felt this way about."

"I'm sorry Brother, I'm just worried, for you, for her...for us."

"I can make her love me." Gilbert's voice sounded desperate to even his own ears. Bash patted his shoulder.

"She already does Blythe."

Angus joined them a few minutes later, and hugged Josephine, Rollins had the stable boy bring their horse and wagon up to the front of the house and they were about to leave when Gilbert remembered something. "Give me one second." He jumped out of the wagon and ran back up the steps to Aunt Jo.

"Did you forget something?" She asked.

"The opposite, I remembered something. Back on the ship, she once told me, she almost came to PEI, to be adopted by a family. She told me they changed their minds for a younger boy, to help on their farm. But why would the family want a 10 year old when they could have a stronger 13 year old? Maybe they wanted a boy not a girl, our neighbours the Cuthberts adopted a boy a few years younger than Angus, around the same time."

"I will have my lawyers look into it. Travel safe Gilbert, I sense a storm is coming." She was looking at Angus when she said it.

"Please hurry, I don't know if we'll have much time."

"How was the Bog?" Angus asked after about a half hour of silence. 

"Well, I wasn't the victim of a crime." He said dryly toward Gilbert. 

"What did you do? Did you make any friends?" She asked. 

"Well...I met the woman I am going to marry." Bash announced beaming. 

"And you waited this long to tell us!" Who is she? Does she know she's marrying you?"

"Are you kidding me? You decide you're marrying someone you met during a three hour visit? But I can't be with Angus." Gilbert burst out. Part of him was happy for Bash, but the angry, scared of losing her part was furious.

"Gilbert..." Angus tried to stop him.

"It's not the same." Bash said to Gilbert.

"How do you know that? You don't know anything about this woman? What secrets she's hiding. Maybe she'll break your heart." Gilbert threw Bash's words back at him. Bash looked back at Angus who was sitting on the bag of flour. 

"Maybe this isn't the place to talk about this." He told Gilbert.

"Why the hell not? No one is talking, everyone is holding in their thoughts, and feelings and their fucking secrets and I am tired of it." He twisted in his seat to look at her, she looked uncomfortable, eyes wide. "I love you Angus, whatever you think you are keeping from me, I don't care. Please don't leave, I can go to college in Charlottetown."

"You can't be a doctor with a degree from Queens." She reminded him, he had only just hinted at being a doctor one day, he hadn't decided.

"I don't need to be a doctor. I can be a teacher, or an accountant, I can work at the bank in Carmody."

"I can't take your dream from you. How could you love me if I did that to you."

"It's just an idea, I never had these goals until recently, but I have always wanted to have a family, that is my real dream." How could he make her see that they could make it work? 

"But you never wanted to be a farmer. In ten years you would hate your life, and resent me. I am not worth throwing away college and a medical career. Trust me."

"Just tell us, we can help you. I can help you." He wasn't above begging, he knew that if she left, he would regret that his entire life. He couldn't imagine a future without her in it. She just shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself, avoiding his eyes. "So it's settled then, Bash gets to be happy with his future wife, Angus will run away at some point, and I can die alone." He knew that was being dramatic but he didn't care.

After about an hour of absolute silence he turned to Bash. "Tell me about the future Mrs. Lacroix."

"Her name is Mary, and when she smiles it's like the sun is shining just for you."

"How did you meet her?" Gilbert asked.

"I saw her through a window. She's a laundress, I looked in and saw her, bent over a tub of dirty clothes, but she was laughing and when she turned and saw me she smiled. She agreed to walk with me next week."

"I am happy for you. Sorry I didn't say it earlier."

"I know."

She was so tempted to tell them. He loved her, said it didn't matter, but it did. She was wanted for murder, it wouldn't matter if it wasn't true. He would turn away from her and be repulsed. She would hate to see the look of disgust or disappointment on his face. He was a good man, he wouldn't be able to forgive a murder. 

She couldn't stop thinking about their afternoon in Cole's room. It had been more than she could have imagined, he had been so handsome, the way he had spun her around in the small space, twirled her like she was a princess. She wouldn't regret it, when it was over and she was on the run, struggling to stay alive, or in a cold dark cell, she would remember those moments and smile. She'd had taste of what it would be like to be the other half of a pair. He was everything she had ever imagined a man could be, and more, because those were just fantasies and daydreams to make life easier. In the real world she never really believed there could be men like Gilbert or Bash, she had let her guard down for Roy, but had never really believed that he would marry her and give her a happy life. She had the childish hope that he would save her, but deep down she hadn't felt worthy of being saved. Being around Bash and Gilbert was changing her, she was a good person, until Roy she had helped every family she had been with, never stole, never hurt the children, didn't lie. She was an accused murderess, was she still a good person? Was there any coming back from her crime? 

While they traveled home, she let the events of the afternoon echo in her mind. Sometimes she would pretend that Bash and Cole never interrupted them. That they had kissed, and danced. He would have whispered he loved her, while he held her in his arms, instead of shouting it out because he was angry with Bash. She spent the remainder of her ride home, imagining she was still in Cole's bedroom in Gilbert's arms. 

By the time they got back to the farm, Gilbert had a plan formed, it wasn't an honourable plan, it was one of someone completely desperate and it would probably would blow up in his face, but he was willing to risk it. He had to keep her around long enough for her to tell him her secret, then he could help her, or give Aunt Jo time to find out and help her. Angus went into the house to start cooking dinner, Gilbert and Bash went into the barn to put the wagon away, rub down Liberty and take care of the other animals. Lady MacBeth mooed loudly when she saw them, her udders full and swollen with milk. Gilbert got the stool and pail to milk her while Bash saw to Liberty. 

"Bash if you truly love me like a brother, you won't stop me. I have a plan but you won't like it. You don't have to help me or agree with me, but turn a blind eye and let me try."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Bash asked, his voice filled with skepticism.

"I'm going to put a baby in her belly."


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout from the bomb Gilbert dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you all forgive me yet? This certainly isn't Gilbert's proudest moment, but remember, our boy is good at heart. No cliffhanger this chapter, I decided to let your blood pressures return to normal. 
> 
> Many, many thanks for the love you guys show me, it is humbling and overwhelming. I truly appreciate it.

Bash was so quiet for such a long time, he just held Liberty's reins and stared at Gilbert with opened mouth shock. When he finally spoke, it was about what Gilbert expected.

"Have you lost your damn mind? You think you can just get her pregnant? That's the great idea you've managed to come up with? You damn fool.

"Not tonight. I'm not going to just jump on her and...." Gilbert tried to explain. "I'll seduce her."

"Seduction? That is the best you can come up with. You think you know enough about a woman to seduce one? And she's just gonna let you get her with child." Bash was shaking his head in disgust at Gilbert. How hard could it be?

"I know it's not smart, or how I should go about it. You said she loves me, the hard part is already done. I'll just try to be romantic, and over time...a few weeks...if she gets pregnant, I could probably talk her into marrying me."

"A few weeks? I have half a mind to whoop your ass. She loves you, and you want to repay that love by leaving her with a baby? How are mothers without husbands treated in this world? Don't say you'll marry her, what if she runs away before she marries you? What if she takes your child and you never see either of them again?" Gilbert hadn't thought of that.

"I don't know."

"You sure don't."

"So you are going to try and stop me?"

"No, you Moke, I'm going to watch you chase her off, and then I'll be there for you afterward." After his heart was broken.

"I've got to try something." Gilbert told him.

"This isn't the way." Bash tried one last time.

They finished their work in silence, Bash clearly disgusted with Gilbert's plan, and Gilbert letting his mind race with all the scenarios Bash had thrown at him. The one that kept making his stomach clench was the idea that she would get pregnant and then disappear with his baby. Who knew what could happen to his child. He couldn't do that, not just to himself, but to his possible child or to Angus. He wanted her to stay and forcing her to stay through deception wasn't the way. He also didn't want to create a child with her, under a lie or a trick, he couldn't look the child in the eye if it wasn't made from love and honesty. It had to be her choice, he was just so scared her would be gone one morning. Another thought occurred to him, one he couldn't ask Bash about, what if what Roy had done to her during the assaults, had left her unable to even have children, he couldn't ask her the details. She had been so afraid when when Sully had threatened her, her terror was real and evident when she had her nightmares, but she wasn't afraid of Gilbert. He didnt want to become someone she feared. His father had raised him to be an honourable person, and Gilbert knew this plan would cause John Blythe to lose respect for his son, there had to be a different way. Bash went inside, leaving Gilbert alone, pretending to do more work, when he was just trying to work out how he could keep Angus from running away. 

Anne was kneading dough, her mind was racing and she needed something to distract her from it all, so making bread was how she was trying to forget her troubles. It had been a while since she had baked bread, but she remembered the recipe easily. She wondered again if she should just leave, she didn't want to break Gilbert's heart and it would just be worse the longer she stayed, she would be giving him false hope every day she stayed. The problem was, she didn't have enough money to get very far outside of Nova Scotia, she liked the safety the boy disguise provided her, but she knew that security wasn't 100%. Her time on the Primrose was enough to teach her that, she didn't want to work on a ship again. Maybe a train to Toronto, she could be a woman again, get a job in a hotel, restaurant or even in a big house. It would be the smartest thing she could do, change her name again and disappear into a metropolis like Toronto. She didn't want to leave them yet, or Diana, Cole, or Aunt Jo, she finally had people that truly cared for her, she wanted to meet Bash's Mary, and see if she really would marry him one day. The autumn harvest was only a couple of months away, they were about to harvest the first high yield crop of potatoes, if she could hold out a few months, she could ask them for her cut of the profits and say goodbye properly. Gilbert would fight her on it, try every argument to get her to stay, she would need to be strong.

Bash came in, slamming the door, stomping the dirt off his boots at the entrance way. Why was he angry again?

"You two fight again?" She asked.

"That boy of yours, he is a fool!" He growled out. Of hers? Even though she liked the sound of it, she had to nip that in the bud.

"He's not mine." She responded.

"Tell that to him. Oh that absolute moke! If I told you, you would run straight for the hills. Maybe I should so you would know how stupid he really is. I thought he was a good man, but if he actually tries to do this, I don't know if I can stay."

"Bash what are you talking about? Gilbert is a good man, what could he do that would make you leave us?" She tried to think of anything that would make her so angry that she would leave, and the only reason she would go, was to run from the police. 

"You don't want to know." He told her, washing his hands at the sink. "Or maybe I should tell you. Won't have much of a plan if you know about it." So Gilbert had a plan, one that had made Bash furious, and disgusted enough to contemplate leaving the farm. She couldn't think of anything.

"What plan?"

"He'll be mad at me for telling you but we have to stop him. For his own good, for ours too"

Gilbert had come to a new decision. He would still seduce Angus, but not to the point of anything sexual. He would be romantic, read her poems, bring her flowers, tell her how smart, strong and beautiful she was, perhaps kiss her if she was willing. He hoped that if she saw how their life could be, happy and loving, she would be tempted to stay, at least long enough for him or Josephine to help her. This was a plan Bash and John Blythe would support, this was an honourable plan.

He was smiling to himself when he opened the kitchen door, "Gilbert Blythe, how dare you?! I will never speak to you again." He heard Angus shout, he turned to see what had made her so mad, only to be hit in the face with something warm, soft and sticky, before he could even push it off his face, it fell with a wet splat on the floor. 

"What the hell Angus?" He asked, confused and annoyed to be hit in the face with...  
was that dough?

"Don't you what the hell me! You said we were equals, and then you cook up some scheme to have me barefoot and pregnant, as a way to trap me here? That is low Gilbert Blythe." Bash told on him, he knew he shouldn't be angry with Bash, it was a foolhardy plan, but he didn't even wait a day before spilling his secret. 

"You couldn't have waited ten minutes before you gossiped like your name was Rachel Lynde?" He turned on Bash.

"Don't you dare blame him! He is just trying to save me and you from...you! Honestly Gilbert, what kind of stupid idea was that? You know what..." She stopped talking and looked at Bash. "You know I haven't always had a say in what happens to me. If you love me like you claim to, why would you do that to me?" Roy, she hadn't had a say in her assault.

"Angus I'm sorry. It was a stupid, ridiculous, thoughtless plan, formed out of desperation, I thought if we had a baby you would marry me and stay. I have already decided not to try it, Bash did talk some sense into me. If you stay, I want it to be your choice, I want to be someone my Dad would have been proud of."

"Glad to hear that Blythe." Bash said from his corner of the kitchen, not wanting to get in the way of Angus's fury. 

"I'm not staying." She told them. "After the autumn harvest, I'm going to leave. I would leave sooner but I don't have enough money."

"Don't leave, I'm sorry, I promise to leave you alone." Gilbert begged her. 

"I was already thinking about it, your crazy plan has made me see that I need to leave soon and let you get on with your life." Great, now he pushed her away farther, just like Bash said he would.

"Angus, don't just leave, give it some time." Bash advised her. 

"I think it's for the best."

Gilbert couldn't think of a reason he could give to make her stay, he'd already given her his heart, his home, his farm, he would give her his name and a family, but it wasn't enough. He turned around and walked back out of the house, he didn't want to be in the house, near them when he fell apart.

She was laying in her bed, book in her hand, open to the same pages for more than an hour. She hadn't been able to concentrate, she was worried about Gilbert, and she was angry at him, heartbroken for him and for herself. Life really was cruel, he wanted her so desperately that he was almost willing to give up his own integrity, how could he love someone like her so intensely? It was everything she had ever wanted, to be loved by someone who would anything to keep you, but she couldn't have him. She wanted him still, she loved him still, she was still furious with him over it, but she felt really sad for him and guilty too, if she hadn't met him, he would be living his life happily with Bash. It was the tragical romance she used to dream of. She heard the door to the kitchen open and then his feet on the stairs, nine steps to his door, she could see the light under the door from his lantern, and she thought he was going to knock, she tensed up, preparing for a fight or to fight him off, his door opened and closed, the light disappearing. She settled back into bed and returned to her book, sleep wouldn't come easy that night. 

Things were awkward and tense after that, they all pretended everything was normal, but there was a definite chill setting in. They woke up the next morning, Gilbert and Anne getting ready for church, she walked over to Diana's, not wanting to walk through the woods alone with Gilbert, it was still too new, fresh and raw. Diana noticed something was wrong immediately, but Anne didn't tell her about the kiss at Josephine's, Gilbert's plan, or his declaration of love for her. She didn't want Diana to think worse of Gilbert, he had come up with a horrible idea, born out of desperation, that wasn't who he really was. So she simply told Diana that she told them she would be leaving soon and weren't taking it well. 

"Will you write me? I would hate to lose you already." Diana asked, gripping Anne's hand tightly.

"I'll try my best. We have a couple of more months so no reason to be sad yet."

"We need to start planning the ending of our romance then."

"When I leave you can tell everyone you discovered I was really a woman and obviously ended it immediately."

"Or I could say that I ended it to focus on my education, and you were so heartbroken and destroyed, you ran off, back to a ship and the ocean." 

"That is terribly sad and romantic." Anne noted. 

"What will Gilbert and Bash say? Once you're gone?"

"I don't know." She just hoped that she wouldn't cause a horrible scandal for them, that could hurt them. 

When she got home after walking with Diana through town, Gibert handed her a package, inside was a slate, a few pieces of chalk, paper, envelopes and a some pencils. "Practice your math, you're terrible at it. When you get settled, let us know, you don't have to give us an address, but just let us know you're safe." She nodded at him, unable to talk, the lump forming in her throat making it impossible. "The Cuthbert's are having a party for Phillip's birthday next week after church, Marilla invited us all." He told her before he left the house, going around back and chopping wood. 

"Just great." She said to the empty house. She had avoided Phillip as much as she could, only interacting with him a few times. She wouldn't be able to avoid going to this party, Marilla had been so kind and welcoming, she still brought bread and scones for them, Matthew never hesitated to assist them when they needed help with the farm, or a repair, and Phillip was a good kid, he was always polite, and eagerly helped out when asked. 

"Maybe I should just leave now." She said to the empty room, thinking life really was playing a joke on her.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne is in danger.
> 
> ******Warning - A physical, violent assault occurs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I don't know if it's PMS but I cried writing parts of this. I hope you all like it. Thanks for the comments, kudos and support!

"Am I going to be able to leave you two alone today?" Bash asked them over breakfast Saturday morning. He was going into Charlottetown to visit Mary and the Bog. Gilbert didn't even look up from his plate, what was the point? He had done his best to leave her alone like he had promised, only speaking to her when necessary, to wish her a good morning, or good night. His free time was spent wandering the forests and in his books. He decided that he was going to throw everything into his studies, if he was going to lose her because of his goal of higher education, then he was going to have the best grades possible and try and win a scholarship.

"I'm going to Diana's for lunch, so I won't be around very much anyway." Angus answered. Gilbert felt his stomach twist. Another day, he wouldn't spend with her, he felt like their time together was an hourglass and every moment they spent, not talking, or avoiding each other was a grain of sand closer to her no longer being in his life. It hurt already, what would it be like when she was actually gone? 

"Don't worry Bash, she won't stay anywhere close to me by herself." Gilbert commented, not looking up from his book. "Not that I blame her." Creating an even more awkward silence in the room.

"Well...I should get going I don't want to keep Mary waiting." He stopped and put a comforting hand of Gilbert's shoulder before he left. 

"Good luck." Angus said. "I should go get ready." She ran up the stairs to get changed into her nice clothes. He didn't want to see her changed and ready for her lunch with Diana, he gathered his books and went outside toward the barn, a pile of hay would be a comfortable place for studying. 

"Why didn't you tell me you kissed Gilbert? And danced with him, in a dress?" Diana hissed as soon as they left the house after lunch, strolling to their favourite corner of the garden. Cole must have written to Diana and shared the story with her. "Cole said it was the most romantic thing he's ever witnessed. 

"It doesn't change anything. I'm leaving soon."

"Cole says it is obvious that Gilbert loves you. Why don't you just stay? You could be so happy."

"I just can't Diana."

"Well maybe you should look at this and tell me why throwing away a man that desires you like Gilbert clearly does, is a good idea." Diana reached into the sleeve of her dress and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handed it to Anne. It was the sketch of the her dancing with Gilbert. Looking at it brought tears to her eyes, her face was tilted up and slightly turned forward, Gilbert's was looking down, a soft smile on his face, his hand splayed across her lower back, the skirt of Anne's dress appeared to be caught in a moment of movement, as if it were about to swish around her legs. How could Cole have captured that emotion, the heat, want and desire, in a simple sketch?  
"It looks like he is about to kiss you on your temple." Diana sighed. It did look like that, she smiled to herself, remembering he had kissed the tip of her nose. They stared at the picture for a few moments longer before Anne folded it up and put it in her pocket, chatting about the party the Cuthbert's would be throwing the next day. 

They heard horse hooves and looked up, they could see a pair of riders, making their way up the lane to the Barry house. "What are constables doing here?" Diana asked, her voice full of concern and curiosity. Anne froze, they were here, they had come for her, she wondered if they had been to the house yet. 

"Diana, I have to go. Don't tell them anything, please. I will always cherish our friendship." Anne said quietly, standing up and pulling her hat over her bright red hair. 

"Angus, no." Diana realized this was goodbye.

"I'm sorry. Tell Gilbert and Bash that they were the best family I could have wished for, that they saved me, even if it were for a short time. Please tell Gilbert I would have stayed and given him a dozen babies if I were free to do so. Tell him I love him. That I'm sorry I never said it to him. I...take care." She squeezed Diana's hand quickly before running toward the woods at the edge of the garden. 

She didn't run for the farm, that was probably compromised, she ran to her hiding spot. Shorty after she arrived at the farm, she had found a tree, deep in the forest, off the path she took to travel between the farm and Diana's home, in the tree, high up in the branches, out of sight of anyone wandering the woods, she hid a pack with a change of clothes, a couple of jars of preserves, and all her money. 

She should have left sooner, how was she going to get off the island? They were probably watching the ferry. She would just get her pack, put some space between her and the constables and then figure out a plan, maybe a fisherman would take her over for the money she had. She ran fast, feeling the slice of small branches whipping her as she sped through them. She tried to jump over a old rotted log and misjudged the time of her jump, catching her foot on it and falling, tumbling down a slight slope, lying face up and gasping for breath. A rustling of leaves had her sitting up and alert. 

"Oh it's the orphan trash." Billy Andrews said from a few feet away from her. He was sitting on a log, a bottle of what looked like moonshine in his hand, his hunting rifle leaning against the log. "You're making a hell of a noise, chasing away the deer."

"Sorry, I..I...was..."

"Spit it out freak." Billy said, standing up and towering over Anne, who was still sitting on the forest floor. "What's this?" Billy said bending over and snatching up a piece of paper of the ground, she realized it was Cole's sketch a second too late to get to it first. She stood up and began to slowly back away from Billy as he unfolded the paper. 

"Jesus, you are a real sick little freak." Billy said looking at the drawing. 

"It's not what it looks like." She tried to explain. But Billy had lifted his gaze from the paper and the look he wore chilled her to the bone. It was a dangerous look she recognized, Roy wore the same one when he was about to hurt her. 

"It looks like you are some sort of pervert. You think you can come to my town...and spread your sickness around?" He advanced toward her and she turned to run, he was faster and grabbed the back of her shirt, spinning her around and punching her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her and causing her to fall to her knees, clutching her stomach in agony. A punch to the left side of her face followed, and then she was on her back, looking up at the tree canopy, the side of her face throbbing with pain, her mouth filling with the taste of copper. Before she could try and stand, he was on her, a flurry of punches to her face and body, soon she stopped feeling pain, stopped registering where the blows fell. 

She let her mind go to a happy moment, back to Cole's room, back to Gilbert's arms as they spun and twirled before her world went black. 

"Gilbert!" He heard his name being called out. He had fallen asleep in his comfy spot in the hay. "Gilbert?!" The voice sounded like Diana Barry's and it sounded desperate, something was wrong. He jumped up and ran out of the barn, he saw Diana running up to the house and opening the door and calling his name again. 

"Diana, I'm here. What is it?" He called to her and she ran back out of the house.

"It's Angus. She's left." He felt his heart stop, not yet, he had a couple of more months, they were going to start harvesting the potatoes on Monday. 

"It's too soon." He told her, refusing to believe it.

"Two police constables came to my house, when Angus saw them she ran away." He had always wondered if her secret had to do with a crime, now he knew.

"What! What did they say she did?"

"They weren't there about her. They were there about to con men who have been going from town to town tricking people, and stealing their money, claiming there is gold in the soil."

"She ran for nothing! Where did she go? How long?" He ran into the barn to get Liberty but Bash had taken her and the wagon to Charlottetown.

"No more than thirty minutes. She would have to go to the ferry."

"You're right, I need a horse, Bash has ours. Matthew!" He ran for Green Gables, Diana behind him. 

Matthew was in the barn with Phillip when Gilbert got there. "Matthew, I need a horse, Angus has run away and I have to find her before it's too late."

"Phil, get the horses ready, I'll ride with you Gilbert."

"Thank you Matthew." 

Marilla joined them to see what the shouting was about, and stood with Diana, off to the side while they got the horses saddled. "She's going to head for the ferry." Gilbert said. 

"She?" Marilla noted the pronoun.

"She may not, I've been thinking, she may avoid it, if she thinks the police are looking for her." Diana said.

"The police? What exactly is going on?" Marilla asked. 

"Angus is a woman, she's disguised as a boy for safety, and for another reason I don't know. She saw some police constables and thought they had come for her, she's run off. I can't lose her." He told Marilla who had gone still, shock evident on her face. "I'll go to the ferry. Matthew, I don't even know where to send you." 

"I'll stick to the coastline, maybe she's trying to get a boat." Matthew decided. "Phillip, you check the woods around Gilbert's and Diana's, maybe she's holded up in a hiding spot."

"I can't thank you enough, Matthew." Just as he rode off, Matthew rode in the opposite direction, Phillip took to the woods, and Marilla turned to Diana. 

"Tell me everything you know." She told her. 

He took the horse to Josephine Barry's, he hadn't thought to bring any money for a public stable, and he had ridden the horse hard, it was exhausted and covered in lather. He rang the bell and pounded on the door. Rollins opened it, an annoyed look on his face. "Mr. Blythe, what is it?" He asked, seeing the look in Gilbert's eyes. 

"Please, take care of my horse, I'll be back in a few hours. Tell Miss Barry that Angus has run, I'm going to the ferry to look for her."

"Of course." Rollins answered and Gilbert wasted no time in running toward the ferry. 

The clerk who sold the tickets for the ferry hadn't seen a boy or a girl with short red hair, there was only one more scheduled ferry trip, so he waited around incase she tried to make that one. Pacing back and forth in the ferry office, he prayed she would arrive soon, so he could tell her she was safe for a little longer. After the final ferry of the day left, he headed back to Josephine's, noticing for the first time, the soreness of his legs and back from riding and running more than he was used to. 

Cole must have been watching from the window because he threw open the door and ran to Gilbert. "You didn't find her." He stated the obvious. Gilbert shook his head and followed Cole inside. Josephine met them at the door. 

"I need to get back, I'll ride up the western coast line, maybe she's trying to get a boat to cross over to New Brunswick."

"That is a good plan, but before you go, I was planning to come visit you in Avonlea, I have information."

"About Angus?"

"About Anne Shirley." Josephine corrected him. That was her name. Anne Shirley.

"What did you find out?"

"Your clue about the Cuthbert boy was exactly what we needed, my lawyer had no trouble tracking down which orphan asylum Phillip Cuthbert originated from, and from there to our red head in question. When she turned eighteen she worked at The Evangeline Hotel for several months until she disappeared. I can only assume it is then that she joined your ship."

"They don't know why she ran away? She's not wanted for any crimes?"

"No, my lawyers contacted the Halifax police, Anne Shirley has no criminal record and is not wanted for, nor suspected of any crimes."

"What is she running from then?"

"I don't know but you must find her. I will have Rollins station some men at the ferry station tomorrow, we'll know it if she gets on a ferry."

"I can not thank you enough Josephine, I need to go now."

"Safe travels, Gilbert." She told his already retreating back. 

He arrived back to Green Gables, Matthew hadn't returned, Phillip had returned for a bit and then went back out, with some of his friends, one of them was a good tracker, and they hoped to find her trail, according to Marilla. Together they rubbed the horse down, and got it settled for the night.

"Gilbert, Diana has explained to me about Angus, if you find her, you must know it is not appropriate for her to live alone with you and Bash in that house."

"I can't worry about propriety right now Marilla, the woman I love is missing. Thank you for everything, I can't repay your generosity."

"Fiddlesticks, just find her."

"I'm trying." He told her before he turned and ran for the farmhouse, hopefully Bash was back and he could join in the search.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Anne continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting close to the end now. I'm hoping to wrap this up in two or three more chapters, it all depends on if I can pace it properly. Thanks for all your support, comments, hits and kudos!

Gilbert was tired. Exhausted was closer to how he felt, he wasn't even sure how he was still upright and walking. He and Bash had walked the paths of the forest all night, calling out for Angus and Anne. There was still no trace of her. Matthew had returned at some point, found them in the woods and informed them he had failed to find her too. He went home for a short nap and promised to join them again in a few hours. Phillip and his friends had gone home for the night too, but made plans to join up again in the morning. 

"Maybe you should get some rest too." Bash said to Gilbert. "The sun is about to come up, and The Cuthbert's and others will be out looking for her."

"I have to find her."

"You won't be able to help her in your condition. You need to sleep, for just a few hours and get some food in your belly. Trust me to wake you up if there is any news. You'll wake up with a clearer head, you'll think straight and we can start a new plan." It made sense, he was just stumbling through the dark, literally in the dark woods. 

"Three hours, no more."

"I promise Brother."

He was in a deep dreamless sleep when Bash threw his door open, Gilbert woke immediately, sitting straight up in bed, his heart pounding from the fright. "She's been found." Bash told him, and Gilbert could see a few boys in Angus...Anne's room across from his. He jumped out of bed, still wearing only his underwear and saw that Phillip and another boy, one of Ruby's younger brother's, putting Anne on her bed. 

The matted red hair was the only thing that he could recognize. Her face was swollen, red and black bruises to both eyes, causing them to swell shut, her nose and mouth had dried blood caked around them, and were leaking clear fluid, there was blood in her hair, and in her ears, her left wrist was at an unnatural angle, most likely broken. 

"Angus!" He ran to her side, kneeling and taking her right hand in his his. "Someone fetch the doctor in Carmody." Dr. Ward was too far away in Charlottetown." Phillip, get Marilla, tell her I need her help. Bash boil some water and get me some clean towels, see if there is any witch hazel." Gilbert's father often washed young Gilbert's cuts and scrapes with witch hazel, a tincture made from the roots of the bush that grew in the forests. She groaned weakly and he leaned close to her. "It's me, Gilbert. You're safe. He turned to the last two boys still in the room staring. "Where did you find her? What happened?"

"Joe found her, picked up her tracks this morning. Found her like this, looked like she had been there all night."

"Her hands are so cold." Gilbert noted, putting a spare blanket over her." Get the blankets from my bed." He ordered them, covering her with the blankets when they returned. 

When Bash returned with the water, clothes and the bottle of witch hazel, he thanked the boys for their help and sent them home, together the two of them set to work, trying to clean the cuts and blood on her face. Marilla arrived when they had managed to get most of the blood off her face, avoiding her eyes until the doctor could examine them. 

"My word, who has done this?" She gasped in horror, at seeing Anne's battered face. 

"We don't know. I think her wrist is broken, but her clothes are damp, from the dew I guess, she was out all night. You and Bash cut her out of her clothes, I'll give you privacy and get myself presentable for company." He said, realizing he was still in his underwear in front of Marilla Cuthbert. He leaned in close to Anne's ear and whispered. "I'll be right back." And then left them. 

In his own room, the energy he felt when he heard she had been found left him, he crumbled onto his bed, holding back tears. She looked so little and broken, what kind of monster had done that to her? Things like that didn't happen in Avonlea. Could Roy have found her? He picked himself up off the bed and got dressed, and moved back to Anne's room, knocking before he entered. Marilla was just straightening the blankets when he entered. Anne was still unconscious, Bash was wiping at some more blood he found in her hair.

"I'll make some broth and tea, in case she wakes up and needs something." Marilla went downstairs, Bash followed her, carrying the bowl of now blood tinged water. 

"The doctor will be here soon, he'll fix you up as good as new. You'll be fine." He went to his room briefly to get his father's old Walt Whitman book of poems, Leaves of Grass, and began to read them, while keeping her hand in his. 

"This is the female form,  
A divine nimbus exhales from it from head to foot,  
It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction,  
I am drawn by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor, all falls aside but myself and it," 

He was reading when Bash and the Doctor entered the room. "Hello Gilbert.

"Thank you for coming so quickly Dr. Murray." Gilbert stood up and moved out of the doctor's way, so he could examine Anne, the doctor asked Marilla to join him, to help with the examination.

"Those bindings she had on, probably saved her ribs from being broken." Dr. Murray said as he and Marilla came out into the hallway. Her wrist was broken, he set that, and a burst eardrum, he ruled out internal bleeding; any brain injury, eye, hearing and tooth damage would only be revealed as she healed. Gilbert hadn't considered brain injuries, what if when she woke up, his Anne was gone? What if she didn't remember him anymore? Didn't remember she loved him?

Gilbert needed to ask if she had been raped, but found those words sticking in his throat. He knew she would be shattered if she had been, he wasn't sure if she could recover if she had been...again. "There was no sign of any recent sexual activity." The doctor said shooting a apologetic look to Marilla for the subject. "There are signs of some past injuries. I'll leave some pain relieving medicine she can drink, I'll come back tomorrow to check on her."

Bash and Marilla followed him downstairs, asking questions about caring for her, while Gilbert went back into the room, back to his chair beside the bed and took her hand in his. "You'll be okay Anne. I'll take care of you, if you let me." He picked up the book of Whitman poems and began the second bedside vigil he had to endure in his young life. 

Diana came several hours later, a small vase of flowers in her hands. "Everyone likes flowers when they aren't well." She said to him before turning her eyes onto Anne. "Oh...oh no..Angus." She sat on the bed beside Anne and began to sing softly in French, stroking her hair. "I heard...but it's not the same as seeing it." She said to Gilbert, her eyes heavy with tears.

"No, it's not. I'll leave you with her."

"Gilbert, before she ran, she wanted me to tell you a message." Diana stopped him.

"She did?" He needed to know what she had said.

"You and Bash were the best family she could have hoped for. That even though she never said it to you, she loves you and if she were free to do so, she would stay and give you a dozen children."

"She said that?" His voice cracked with emotion.

"She did."

"Thank you Diana." 

He stumbled down the stairs and entered the kitchen, Marilla had left, but Bash was standing by the window looking out. He saw the tears in Gilbert's eyes. "You doing okay, Blythe?" He asked

"No..." Gilbert tried to say but a sob came out, he covered his face with his hands, and cried, he felt Bash's arms surround him and hold him close. 

"Let it out Gilbert, you've been strong enough for now." And he did, he cried in Bash's arms, until he felt better, he was still scared for Anne, but most the fear, stress, anger and helplessness he had been holding in since Diana told him Angus had run off, had been purged from his body. He wiped his face and nodded his head at Bash.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"You did, now you need to eat something, Marilla cooked up a storm." Bash said as he ladled out some soup into a bowl for Gilbert. "Chicken soup and dumplings. The vegetables are nice and soft now, if Ang...Anne wakes up and is hungry she should be able to eat some of it."

"She gave Diana a message for me, before she left. That she loved me and if she was free to do so, she would have stayed and given me children."

"She still might leave." Bash warned him. 

"I know. " And he did know, he didn't like it, it made his chest hurt, made his throat tight, but he could ignore the small glimmer of hope he know felt. 

"Gilbert, Bash, she's awake!" Diana called down to them. The two of them instantly ran up the stairs. 

Sometimes the empty black void would cease to be, and she would see, glimpses of light, green leaves, blue sky. It hurt when she tried to look though, so she liked staying in the inky blackness, where the pain wasn't like a constant pounding in her body. She heard someone calling her name once, she couldn't answer them though, her voice was still in the void, she noticed the sky was dark and filled with stars. 

Something warm and furry found her, it crept close and she felt its fur brush against her hand, a cold wet nose, pressing in by her neck, she didn't have any food for it, so it shuffled off through the old rotten leaves on the ground of the forest. 

Bright, hot pain yanked her from the darkness, her voice came with her and she cried out, trying to make it go away, but her arms didn't move, many voices came, she didn't understand what they were saying, they were frantic, and scared and all talking at once, but their hands were gentle, and the voices soon became soft and comforting, and before she surrendered to the black again she heard one say "Home."

She stayed in the dark, black place, but it wasn't empty anymore, sometimes she could hear ghosts talking. She wasn't afraid of them though, they were like Kaitie Maurice, friendly comforting presences, the spirits, promised to help her, to keep her safe, they didn't know she was already safe, nothing could hurt her in her dark world. One spirit visited her more than others, she liked when it came, it said such pretty words, and Anne loved words so very much. "as if I were no more than a helpless vapor" it said once....was she becoming vapor as well? 

The ghost of a songbird came to sing to her. How lovely the little bird sang. The longer it sang, the louder it got, closer, the bird must be right beside her, Anne wanted to see it, did it have bright feathers? She let the light in, wincing at the pain it gave her, it took a moment to focus, her eyes in this world were not used to working, but then the bird became clearer, until she saw it wasn't a songbird at all. 

"Diana...?" A raspy voice croaked, was that hers? 

"Angus! Anne...you're awake." Diana gasped, and then yelled "Gilbert, Bash, she's awake!"

Anne tried to look toward where she knew the door was, but her head felt heavy and it hurt too much, but it didn't take long for her to hear heavy pounding on the stairs, nine steps to the door became five and they were there, her family. Bash's kind brown eyes, so full of concern and worry, he wore a happy smile still. Gilbert, sitting beside her, his eyebrows scrunched together with worry and love, warmth enveloped her hand and she knew that touch, the feeling of his fingers on her.

"Can we dance again Gilbert?" She managed to rasp out, it was hard to talk, her throat was dry and sore. Gilbert smiled then, the one she liked best, it was a small smile, paired with a quick squint of his eyes, followed by a soft chuckle.

"Anytime, anywhere." He promised her. 

"That's my favourite time and place to remember." She told him. "It's where I went when..." When Billy had hurt her. Her body tensed as the memories came rushing back, and she let out a sob, squeezing her eyes against the tears, caused them to hurt more.

"Anne." Gilbert said softly. Not Angus, he knew her name, somehow. She opened her eyes and looked at him. His face was full of sympathy, his eyes bright with emotion. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Billy found the drawing of us. He didn't like it. He was so fast, and strong, I tried to stop him, I tried to run..." Then she remembered she had been running from the police and she tried to get out of the bed, but the thousand pound weight attached her head, wouldn't allow it. "I have to go, I have to...please help me." She whispered, her throat felt like she had tried to eat sand. 

"Anne, you need to stay calm, you have several injuries. You don't need to run. Those police officers weren't looking for you. No police officers are looking for you, Aunt Jo has confirmed it. You're safe." Gilbert told her, stroking his thumb over her hand.

"They aren't?" She couldn't believe it, no authorities were looking for her? Her head hurt too much to figure it out right now, but knowing she wasn't in danger of being arrested, helped relax her mind and body.

"No. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Perhaps Anne would like a drink or some broth." Bash suggested, and the dryness in her throat became almost unbearable at the thought of a drink. She nodded at him. Diana, passed Gilbert a glass of water that had been on the table beside the bed, Bash ran down the stairs for the broth. The water instantly soothed her throat, and she felt like she must have drank a miracle cure, because she instantly felt a bit better. She drank some more and then laid back, feeling her stomach grumble for something more substantial. 

She managed most of the broth, a few soft pieces of carrots, potatoes and turnip, and a few bites of bread. Then Gilbert had her drink a horrible tea that had her medicine in it. She soon felt light headed. 

"Rest now Anne, you're safe with us." She heard Gilbert say.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes out.
> 
> ****WARNING - There are some unsettling injuries described, that Anne got at the hands of Roy, if they may upset you, skip the part where Dr. Murray talks to Anne alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are almost at the end, one more chapter I think, maybe an epilogue too. This story is so long and has so many plot points that I had to rewrite parts of this chapter a few times, to make sure it all added up. I hope I succeeded.
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there with me, twenty chapters! OMG I'm tired. LOL

"I am going to kill Billy Andrews." Gilbert said as soon as Anne fell asleep. "I'll tear him apart, make him feel the pain she felt."

"Gilbert, no!" Diana gasped, and Bash grabbed Gilbert's shoulder as he moved to go toward the door. 

"Think smart Gilbert. You aren't the kind of man that kills another. Diana, it's getting late and the sun will set in an hour or so, I will walk you home, it's not safe in the woods right now, then I will see if Mr. Barry would be willing to fetch the police for us. You stay here and keep Anne safe." Bash was always the voice of reason.

"Wasn't it just yesterday that you worried about leaving us alone together." Gilbert remembered, it felt like an eternity.

"I'll be plenty worried again in a week or two. Now let's get going Diana."

Diana bent to kiss Anne's forehead. "I'll see you soon kindred spirit." She said good bye to Gilbert and followed Bash down the stairs. 

Mr. Barry did indeed fetch the police for them, he also brought Diana back to their home, so she could tell the police what she heard Anne say, with her, Gilbert's and Bash's statements, it was enough to arrest Billy, and hold him in jail, until Anne could be interviewed by them. When they went to The Andrew's home, Billy wasn't there, he hadn't been seen for more than a day by his family and the staff. So a new search was organized, the police, the men of Avonlea, Carmody and even Bright River, flooded the woods, beaches and countryside looking for Billy Andrews, he was found hiding in a small cave, near the beach. His hands covered in cuts and bruises from his vicious attack, he denied it all, but he had the picture of Anne and Gilbert dancing still in his pocket. 

She woke up, in a lot of pain, her eyes were still swollen, and felt crustier than before, it was dark, her hand was still in Gilbert's, but he had fallen asleep in the chair beside the bed. She was thirsty, her arms felt so heavy, she didn't want to risk picking up the glass, she didn't trust her eyes or arm. "Gilbert." She said softly, slowly pulling her hand free of his and moving it with difficulty to his shoulder, landing heavier than she anticipated. It startled him and he woke up quickly. 

"Anne, are you alright?"

"Sorry to wake you. I'm thirsty." He got the water and helped her drink it. 

"Are you hungry? I can warm up some soup."

"I wouldn't mind some."

"I'll go get some for you." He stopped at the door. "Don't go anywhere." He said with a grin, she grimaced at his joke, and he went down to the kitchen, she dozed while he was gone, waking up when she heard the light clinking of the spoon and bowl, as he entered the room.  
He fed her the soup, she ate more this time, Gilbert also made them both some tea, they didn't talk, other than for him to ask about her pain. 

"It's not so bad right now." She told him. She lifted her good arm a few times, it felt sore and she could see bruises on it, "Could you help me sit up for a bit?" She put her good arm around his neck and felt him wrap an arm around her waist and as carefully as he could, he hoisted her up into a sitting position,. While he put pillows behind her back to support her, she fought through waves of dizziness and nausea, as the blood traveled to her head quickly. 

"How is your vision? I know with the swelling it's hard to see, but can you see out of both eyes?"

"I can. The left one is more blurry than the right, but I can see more now than earlier. Could I have a cloth to wipe my eyes? They're crusted and stuck together."

"I have some cloths and clean water here, after we could make a compress with the warm tea, that is good for reducing inflammation around the eyes, Dr. Murray suggested it."

"Thank you Gilbert." He dipped the cloth in water and passed it to her, she gently wiped at first one eye, then the other. She handed him the cloth and then felt her face with her hand, both eyes were swollen so large, her mouth was swollen her left cheek had a bump on it too, that hurt when even tenderly touched. After her exploration she looked at Gilbert who had a thunderous look on his face.

"What is it?"

"I didn't see it until now, that son of a bitch strangled you." Gilbert ground out, she could see his hands in tight fists in his lap. She felt her neck and the skin felt very tender there. "He didn't just beat you, he tried to kill you."

She didn't feel any outrage like Gilbert did, she felt fear. "What's going to happen now?"

"His charges are going to go from assault to attempted murder. We have to show these marks to Dr. Murray and the police."

"The police? No, don't involve them." She felt fear flood her body.

"Anne, it's alright. They aren't looking for you."

"You said that earlier, how can you be sure?" Her head was clearer now.

"Josephine Barry, her lawyers tracked down your real identity. Don't be mad at her, she wanted to help you with whatever you were so afraid of. Her lawyers contacted the Halifax police, they don't have any warrants out for you, you aren't a suspect in a crime. If that is what you were running from...you don't have to run." She shook her head, that wasn't possible. "What happened? What made you run away from Halifax in the first place?"

"Roy. I worked at a hotel, in the kitchen. Roy knew the manager, they gambled and drank together. He knew...what Roy did to me, he told me no one would believe me. That it was a favour to me, because it was preparing me for the inevitable, a future in a brothel. Breaking me in, he said once." Gilbert stayed silent but that dark angry look appeared on his face again. "I was leaving at the end of my shift, the staff used a door in an alley in the back of the building. Roy was out there, I thought he was going to hurt me, he came close to me, I was pressed against the wall, I thought he was drunk because he staggered and stumbled against me. Then he was falling, I tried to stop him from falling, an instinct I guess, but he was too heavy for me to hold, he fell and I fell on top of him. When I managed to get to my feet...that's when I noticed the blood, he was covered in blood and then, so was I. I didn't know what to do, Stanley, the hotel Manager, came out. He saw me standing over Roy, both of us covered in blood, and asked what I did, said he was calling the constables. I got on the Primrose the next day."

"Anne that wasn't you, someone else did that."

"But I wanted him dead. I thought about slitting his throat the next time he came for me, or hitting him with a shovel from the fireplace, pushing him in front of a carriage, poisoning him, and he died." She cried, the weight of holding in her guilt, and fear coming to the surface. Gilbert sat beside her on the bed, and held out his arms, an offer to comfort her and she surrendered herself to his embrace. He held her so gently, she knew he didn't want to squeeze her sore body. Still the most considerate man she had met. 

"He deserved to die for what he did to you." Gilbert told her, she could feel his breath in her hair.

"That isn't our place to make that judgement though."

"Tell me his name, I can send a message to Josephine, her lawyers can look into it. The police aren't looking for you as a suspect so Stanley never said anything."

It took her several minutes for her to find the courage to even whisper his full name. When she did, fresh tears fell. Was her nightmare almost over?

The police came midmorning, and took Anne's statement after, visiting Dr. Murray to get his report on the injuries Anne had suffered at Billy's hands. They asked the obvious question of why she was living as a man, and she gave her usual, it was safer for her answer, which they accepted. Gilbert pointed out the bruises around her neck and the police confirmed they would bring attempted murder charges against him on top of assault, public intoxication, resisting arrest and numerous theft charges. Billy was found with jewelry, that had been reported missing from several homes around Avonlea and the surrounding communities. 

Dr. Murray came before lunch, he looked closely at her eyes, and after asking her some questions, concluded that she was probably not going to have any permanent vision loss. He was still concerned about her hearing with her burst eardrum, but time would tell if there was any loss of hearing. He asked Gilbert to step out of the room and spoke to Anne alone.

"Miss Shirley, I had to examine you, to see if there had been a rape, there were no signs of one, and it is my understanding that Andrews, was not aware of your gender until he was arrested." She was relieved to know there had been no rape, she hadn't found the courage to ask Gilbert or Bash. "I do however see that you have some scars on your breasts, stomach, legs, pelvis and genitals. They appear to be burns, bite marks, and deliberate cutting, and...I am sorry to upset you," He said at her tears. "And there are initials carved into your skin. They are older scars, I am assuming neither Gilbert or Sebastian are responsible for these?" She shook her head, eyes lowered, unwilling to see the pity in Dr. Murray's eyes. 

"If you will consent, I will have Marilla come upstairs and I will perform a pelvic exam, to determine you haven't got any scarring inside, or diseases."

"Will she see?" Anne asked, quietly, horrified at the perfectly prim and proper Marilla Cuthbert seeing the scars on her body.

"No, she will stand by your head, I will protect your modesty with a blanket, she will be here for support, the examination will be uncomfortable for you, I will have to insert my fingers inside." He warned her. She remember Roy shoving his fingers inside of her, could remember the burn of flesh tearing and his nails scratching. "Some of these diseases can cause not only infertility, but can lead to death in extreme cases." 

"Alright."

Gilbert sat in the kitchen, staring at stairs, and wondering how Anne was doing. Marilla had gone upstairs to assist in an examination Dr. Murray needed to perform on Anne, Bash was out with Matthew, Phillip and several other community members who had all rallied around them and offered to help them harvest their crop of potatoes, even Rachel Lynde had come by, tittered about impropiety of a young woman living with two bachelors, and then headed out to help with the harvest. Gilbert had written a note for Josephine Barry, with Anne's abuser's name on it, what had happened when Roy died, and a brief description of what Billy did to Anne, he paid one of Phillip's friends to take the train and deliver it to Josephine. He hoped she could help with a conclusion for Anne, one that would give the terrified woman some peace of mind. He heard the door upstairs open and Marilla come down, her face paler than normal, she set about making some tea. 

"When she's ready, Matthew and I would like to offer Angus...Anne a place to stay at Green Gables, now that the secret is out, the town is not going to allow this living arrangement any longer."

"That is very kind of you, both."

"I'm afraid my offer wasn't originally from kindness. When the doctor said no signs of recent... activity, I admit, I assumed the worst about you and her. Diana told me about your intense feelings for her, and her for yours, I thought you had dishonoured her, and I was very disappointed in you, I thought John would have been too. Neither she nor the doctor said anything to me, but I understand now that she's been a victim of someone else, and suffered a woman's worst fear. Now I offer her a place to stay to protect both of your reputations, and Sebastian's too. You know there are plenty of folk who don't approve of him."

"I say thank you again Marilla, it is very generous of you."

"Fiddlesticks, it's what a community does, takes care of each other." She gestured out the window to the group of people harvesting the potatoes. Dr. Murray came down the stairs then. 

"She's already improving, she's a strong lass. I think she is well enough to stand up and walk around a bit or use the stairs with assistance. Watch her wrist, I've put it in a sling, but make sure she doesn't try and use it. Watch for any signs of infections in her eyes and cuts, I'll be back in a few days to check on her." Gilbert thanked him, paid him and saw him to the door. 

"Bring her up her lunch, I think she could use your company." Marilla handed him a tray with two lunches on it.

Josephine Barry arrived three days later. She entered the farmhouse with little fanfare, a "Nice to see you again" to Marilla and a smile for Gilbert. "Dear boy, I have news."

"What is it?" He asked.

"This is for Anne, take me to her." He led her up the stairs and felt his heart soar when Anne saw Josephine and a smile split her bruised face. 

"Aunt Jo!" She exclaimed loudly, sitting up straighter. "You didn't have to come all this way."

"Nonsense. I absolutely had to, this news is far too important to trust to the postman."

"What is it?" Anne's face held trepidation, she was scared of the news about to be delivered. 

"Royal Gardner is indeed dead." Gilbert sat beside Anne on the bed and put an arm around her shoulder. "But he didn't die that night. You joined the ship November 23rd?" Anne nodded. "Well he didn't die until November 27th. In jail, he was killed in a fight with another prisoner."

"What? He was alive? How could that be?" She asked, her face filled with confusion, he felt equally confused. 

"It seems as if he killed a lady of the night. It must have been her blood he was covered in, maybe he was drunk or in shock, when he fell but he was without any injury when he was taken into police custody on November 25th."

"Anne, you don't have to run." Gilbert said to her, he felt like his heart was jumping with happiness. 

"No one is coming for me." She said.

"No one is coming for you." Josephine repeated. 

"I'm free?" She asked as if she didn't believe it.

"You are free to do what you want, my dear girl. Now you must ask yourself, what is it you want." Josephine said to Anne. Anne was quiet for a moment before she turned to Gilbert.

"I want this farm, this family, this life. I want you." She told him, now he was the one who could hardly believe what he was hearing. 

"You already have me.


	21. Chapter Twenty-one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I was just physically burnt out most of the week, and then I just didn't want to do anything. I also loathe endings so this is always a little personal torture. I'm trying to write an epilogue, but I kind of hate it right now so maybe I won't. 
> 
> I hope you all don't hate it. Thanks for all the love and support.

"I don't want to." Anne knew she sounded like a stubborn toddler, but...she didn't want to. She didn't want to go an live with the Cuthbert's. She liked them well enough, they were always kind to her, but she had a family and she didn't want to leave them. She had been so very close to losing them, and now that she knew she was actually free, in a truly safe place she didn't want to leave. 

"Anne..." Bash started to say.

"Bash, it's not fair."

"I think it is fair, they are offering a place where you can stay, and none of us become the town pariahs."

The swelling was gone, the bruises had faded to a light yellowish green, she had been free to leave her bed and room for several days, she couldn't return to work because her wrist was still healing, but with the freedom of movement had come the offer to stay at Green Gables, and Marilla outright telling them all that if Anne continued to live alone with two bachelors, one of them a black man, the three of them wouldn't be welcome in town, church, andy businesses. "They are all willing to overlook that you have been here until this point, they sympathize with Anne's past, the parts they are aware of. I haven't told anyone, including Matthew, the truth of what you have suffered, but I have spoken with many and explained that being all on your own left you vulnerable. They will not forgive it continuing from this point on however."

"Thank you Marilla, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I am extremely grateful. You have been so welcoming to Bash and myself, from the first moment, and you didn't hesitate to come and help us all, when I was...hurt, we all owe you so much. I have never had a family, even the families that took me in, they did not care if I was happy or sad, if I was warm, fed, safe, but for the first time in nearly 19 years, I have one, and they care for me so much and I would do anything for them, isn't there anyway that I could stay?"

"There is one way Anne." Gilbert said, up until this point he had been silently sitting at the table in the kitchen observing. She couldn't help the small tug at her heart that she felt. Since she told him she wanted to stay and be with him, allowing herself to love him and to be loved by him, it had seemed like an immense weight had been lifted off her. She felt like she smiled and laughed more than she had ever laughed, even her happy moments with Gilbert and Bash before all the truth came out had been tinged with her secrecy. She felt her heart in her throat at that moment because she knew what he was going to say, there was really only one way for her to stay and he had been pushing for it before the attack. 

"This time I won't call you a fool." Bash also knew what Gilbert was saying.

"Gilbert..." Anne started to say, he still had his dream of college, she hadn't resolved that in her mind or heart, but she wanted him to further his education if that was his hope and goal. 

"Don't say anything." Gilbert interrupted her, stood up from the table and ran upstairs, before returning in a minute, he took her good hand. "If you will please excuse us." He said to Marilla and Bash, before leading her out the door. 

He didn't rush them, they strolled at a normal pace, she enjoyed it, holding his hand and walking in the bright light of the sunshine. Soon they were walking beneath the trees of the orchard, the apples, according to Gilbert, about halfway from being ready to harvest.  
"I know I was stupid and crazy, I thought things, imagined ways to keep you here, that were insane and reckless, but I promise you that it wasn't me trying to control you or put you in a position where you had to rely on me. All I want is for you is to be happy, to be free to live your life the way you chose to, to always be an equal in this farm, in this strange little family we have created, and as my wife. You told Diana you would stay if you were free to do so, you have your freedom, I can't promise you I won't frustrate you, anger you or disappoint you, but I promise I will always show you that I love and treasure you. So will you marry me?" 

He pulled a ring out of his pocket and dropped to one knee, looking up at her, she wished Cole were here to draw the look on his face, one filled with hope, love, determination and a bit of worry, how she loved this man. She was free, for the first time in her existence she was free to do whatever she wanted, not out of necessity, but out of desire. She wanted to shout yes at the top of her lungs, loud enough for Bash and Marilla to hear it all the way back at the farmhouse, a husband who loved her, was everything she'd dreamed of as a girl, but he had to know it all, before he decided. 

"Before I give you my answer, I need to tell you something." She got down on her knees with him, his face clouded with concern. "It's not a no, but we both need to be sure. Dr. Murray says that I don't have any social diseases, from Roy, so we wouldn't have to worry about that. There is scarring though, inside, from things that Roy did, I may not be able to give you children." She told him, he was the last of his line and it was important that he knew what their future might look like. She wiped the tears from her eyes, waiting for him to answer, preparing for a rejection that she couldn't fault him for. 

"Anne, after all we have been through, how we have made our family, do you think that I couldn't love someone who wasn't blood? When the time comes for our family to grow, we can adopt a child...or six."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. I am sure."

"What about college. Do not say you don't need to go...you do. Or at least try."

"I'll stay on the island, or you can come with me. Once Bash knows how to run the farm, he can hire on a hand or two to help him, and he'll have Mary." Bash had not stopped talking about Mary, she was going to join them this Saturday for lunch. 

It was stupid she knew, to have any hesitation after the devotion he had blatantly shown toward her, not just since the attack, but even before, things like this just didn't happen to her. "What if...." She started to ask.

"Anne, every married couple runs into bumps, arguments, hardships and tragedies throughout a lifetime together. My own father lost his wife, and four of his five children, he never regretted the love they shared, even for that short time. We will have rough moments, sad moments, you'll be furious with me sometimes and I'm sure I'll find something about you to dislike. But I know everything about you, right? I know you are an orphan, that you suffered a brutal attack at the hands of Roy, I know what that means, and it doesn't matter to me. I love you, I accept it all." 

"I want to say yes, I do." She had one last worry, one that had been eating away at her since she admitted to hime she wanted him. "I'm scared."

"Of me?" He asked, his eyebrows wrinkling, and then looking crestfallen. "I won't ever raise a hand against you."

"No, I know that." She tried to get the words right. "I like kissing you, being in your arms...but when Roy..." She stopped talking so she wouldn't cry.

"Anne, are you afraid of..." She could see his mind whirling, trying to grasp what she was fearing, and then how to actually say the words. "The marital bed." He finally sputtered out, his face turning bright red, and she couldn't help but fall in love a bit more. She nodded at his answer though.

"I'm scared too." He admitted to her.

"You are? Why?" Did he think she would hurt him? 

"I don't ever want to remind you of him, of those horrible attacks. What if I do something that he did? What if I hurt you?" His vulnerability in that admission was almost too much for her to bear, she wanted to comfort him, to promise him he would be perfect. And then she knew.

"After we get married, we have to promise that we will always be honest, no more secrets, hidden fears or worries."

"I'll promise you that now, that I will always tell you what's in my heart...wait did you just say after? You will marry me?" He looked so happy, she felt the same joy exploding out of her.

"Yes I will marry you Gilbert Blythe."

"This is too much." Anne insisted to the women in her temporary room at Green Gables, Marilla, Diana, Aunt Jo, and Mary, whom had arrived one Saturday afternoon for a visit and became one of Anne's very best friends, and soon to be sister, when she married Bash, he had asked her on their second walk around the Bog, Mary had agreed after her first visit to Avonlea and meeting Anne and Gilbert. Bash and Mary would be married in two weeks, by her minister in the Bog. She was here, to help the women get Anne ready to marry Gilbert. "I was just going to wear one of Diana's dresses, she has a really pretty cream one with small blue flowers..."

"Nonsense." Aunt Jo cut her off, voice stern but full of love. "I've had my seamstress working on this dress, since I visited you at your farm last month. It's my wedding present to you." They weren't even engaged at that point, Aunt Jo had just known.

"Aunt Jo..." Anne couldn't finish, the dress was Ivory satin, with beautiful crystal beading and lace embellishments, and puffed sleeves. It was divine.

"I'm surprised you aren't trying to wear trousers down the aisle." Marilla huffed, smiling at the beautiful gown. On Anne's first day, Marilla had provided Anne with some old skirts and blouses, Anne loved them, they were clean, and perfectly suitable for her and she did wear them sometimes, but when she was walking around the farm, in the mud and dirt, she preferred her pants and boots. 

"Don't think I didn't consider it, before Diana offered one of her dresses, but this gown...I've never even touched something this beautiful." Anne told them all. 

"Just put it on." Mary laughed, urging Anne to take off her nightgown. Several minutes later she was in front of them as they all smiled and "ahhhed" about how beautiful she looked. 

"I should have bought a hat." Anne said wryly, her hair had grown out a bit, and hit just below her chin, not enough to wear it up as was the fashion. 

"I may have something..." Diana thought out loud.

"What about this?" Marilla reentered the room holding a delicate veil in her hands. "I never had a use for this."

"Marilla no..." Anne started to say, it was too much. 

"I haven't got a daughter to pass this on to. Don't let it go to waste and the moths. Let it be used as it was intended, for a hopeful bride to meet her groom." Anne realized that Marilla had a tragical romance of her own and vowed to find out about it in the future.

"Thank you, Marilla. All of you." 

Gilbert stood with the minister at the altar, waiting for his bride to enter. Three weeks after she finally said yes, they were getting married. It had been hard having her staying at Green Gables, but she visited him and Bash everyday, watching to learn since her wrist had not completely healed. He watched as Marilla and Matthew entered the church and quietly took their spots, smiling and nodding at him as they did so, they had been Anne's ride to the church from Green Gables, so he knew this was it. She was behind the closed doors and would be his wife in a few minutes. 

When the organ music began to play, he took a deep breath, smoothed down his suit and waited for her. Diana entered first, looking lovely in a sky blue dress, a small bouquet of flowers in her hands. She stood off to side, and the guests stood to greet the bride. The sun was shining in the door when she entered, created a soft yellow halo around her body, as she got closer he stopped breathing. He didn't know what he imagined her wearing when she married him, but it wasn't a white dress. She held his eyes, the entire time, her smile growing wider with each step, by the time she reached him, she was biting back a joyous laugh. She handed her bouquet to Diana and Gilbert glimpsed a flash of red, the red ribbon he had purchased for her, was wrapped around the stems. Anne let go of Bash's arm, and for the first time Gilbert noticed his brother, looking handsome in his new suit, Anne insisted he was the closest thing she had to a father and Bash had gleefully agreed to walk her down the aisle, he was also Gilbert's best man. 

"What did you do to your hair?" She asked him as they joined their hands in front of their friends, the minister and God. His hair had been combed into place by Bash. 

"Bash said my hair was a mess." Gilbert said quietly. 

"I like it like that." She told him, and reached up and tousled his hair so that the unruly curls would stand up like they usually did, causing the guests to chuckle. "We're ready now." She informed the minister. 

Years later, they would always argue about the exact wording of their vows, the promises they made that day, he would insist "obey" was one of them with a teasing grin, and she would laugh and threaten to throw more dough at him.


	22. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to give a glimpse of their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it is Mother's Day, I thought this might be a good place to check in on them. Sorry it got so sappy.

"Push Anne." Dr. Rose told Anne, Gilbert held Anne's hand and watched as her face turned bright red as she bore down, trying to get their child out. It was her second delivery, and he was still worried, the first, their son James had been a difficult birth, leaving her exhausted and bedridden for longer than normal. That had been many years ago, James was already eleven, when she didn't get pregnant again, they had adopted a few siblings for James, Hannah joined them when she was three, now ten, she was still quiet and reserved, but she was a good girl who loved to read and write. Calvin arrived two years later, he had been just a few weeks old, his mother had died in child birth and had no family to claim him. And just last year, they took in the two sisters, they weren't twins but looked and acted like it. Lizzie was seven, and Prudence was six, they were loud gregarious girls, Pru had announced she was going to be a cowboy when she grew up. This latest addition to the family had been a surprise, one they thought would never happen again, and while the whole family was excited and eager to meet the latest Blythe, Gilbert was terrified. 

"I'm still strong and healthy." Anne would try and reassure him. She never promised though, to make it through safely, she knew how he lost his own mother. She knew how many women he had seen die from childbirth over the years. She remembered how close it had been for Mary. Delphine was now thirteen and thriving, her younger brother Gabriel was a strong, smart lad that teased Gilbert more than Bash did. Mary had almost died delivering their third, a boy named Noah, who hadn't survived birth. He was buried out in the Blythe family plot, in the spring and summer, Mary planted flowers around his headstone.

"Last push, Anne." Dr. Rose said. Anne pushed and grunted and then a moment later there was a angry cry, their child was here and it was not happy about the smack on the bottom the doctor gave to get it breathing. "A healthy boy, congratulations Dr. Blythe. You've done such a good job Anne, it's nearly over now." Dr. Rose placed the baby in Anne's arms, as she moved to deliver the afterbirth and clean Anne up.

"You're amazing." Gilbert announced, kissing the top of her head, smoothing some of the hair off her face. "If you keep doing this, we're going to have to build another house." The farmhouse was a tight squeeze for the Blythes, but there was enough room for them. That first year of marriage, Bash and Gilbert had built a separate home for the Lacroix's on the other side of the road leading up to the farm, the two families still close together but granted some privacy. 

Gilbert went to school in during the second year of marriage, Starting with Queens and then continuing at Redmond, before they returned to PEI and he finished his training with Dr. Ward in Charlottetown, where he met Winnie. Gilbert shared a practice with the first woman doctor on the island, Dr. Winnifred Rose, they served not only Avonlea but all the communities near and far, a few people even called for them to make house calls in Charlottetown. Anne hadn't joined Gilbert in college, but she had improved on her writing and math skills and spent, the few precious moments of free time she had, writing. She wrote down the made up stories she would tell the children, a few had been published in magazines, she had grander dreams of writing a children's book. A story about a girl disguised as a boy on a pirate ship with ruthless captain, and their adventures. 

"Let me in." Diana exclaimed from the doorway. "We heard the baby, we just need to know, if you are both alright." 

"I am fine, and so is Baby Blythe." Anne lifted the baby to show Diana.

"Are you naming her Diana?" 

"No, he probably wouldn't appreciate that name."

"Another boy! How wonderful. The perfect age for Gertie." Diana was always trying to marry her own children off to Anne and Gilbert's. Gertrude was only six months old, but she had her mother's creamy skin and dark hair. Diana's older son, Freddie was practically betroved to Lizzie, in Diana's mind at least. Diana had finished college and started a business with Aunt Jo, a line of hair and skin products, Lady Barry's Beauty products were the best seller in Eastern Canada and were quickly gaining on the competition in Toronto and New York. Fred Wright was the business lawyer for the distrubing company, she had employed. They fell in love and were married, she still ran the business, by herself after Aunt Jo died a few years ago. "I'll go share the good news." She announced, kissing Anne's cheek before leaving to tell all those waiting in the kitchen that there was a new healthy Blythe and Anne was faring well. 

The baby began nuzzling, and Anne undid her nightgown so the baby could nurse. Gilbert held them closer, Anne's head resting against his shoulder, while the baby fed. 

"Let's call him Angus." He suggested. 

"Angus Sebastian Blythe...I like the sound of that." She tested it out, eyes closing as she held their baby and smiled. "I know I said a dozen...but that girl didn't know how hard it would be."

"That girl was the strongest person I ever met, she still is." At that moment Winnie announced that Anne was all cleaned up, the placenta looked healthy, and she would leave them to their new baby. As soon as she left, the room filled with children, not just theirs but Bash's and Diana's also tumbled in, followed in by the adults.

"He's so small."

"Did it hurt more than pinching your finger in the door?"

"I'm going to help you."

"Why is he just laying there?"

"Does he like plum puffs?"

"Did you have to lick him clean like Snowy when she had kittens?"

"People don't lick their babies to clean them,"

"He has red hair like me and Mama.

Gilbert stood back and let the little ones see their newest family member, quickly wiping away at a tear in his eye, his gaze coming to rest on a drawing on the wall, the one of him and Anne, that Cole had drawn so many years ago. Gilbert had held her and danced with her countless times since, but he always found he got a warm tingle in his stomach, when he looked at the sketch, or the large finished painting that hung in Cole's home. He had loved Anne so desperately back then, and while the strength of their love had not waned, it was stronger with each passing day.


End file.
